Journalist, author.
Born at Winnipeg on 11 November 1941, daughter of Evelyn Mary Dobson (1905-1997) and Gordon Leslie Russell, she attended Kelvin High School and United College, receiving from the latter a double honours BA degree in Political Science and History.
Her career in journalism began in Ottawa, reporting on activities at Parliament Hill for United Press International. She later wrote for the Globe and Mail (Toronto), Winnipeg Tribune (legislative reporter), and Vancouver Sun (political columnnist) before returning to Winnipeg where she wrote a column on provincial and national politics for the Winnipeg Free Press from 1981 to 1999 and was a regular contributor to the newspaper in later years.
She wrote two books, Misthay Sakahegan, The Great Lake: The Beauty and the Treachery of Lake Winnipeg (2000) and The Canadian Crucible: Manitoba’s Role in Canada’s Great Divide (2003), both of which received a Margaret McWilliams Award. In recognition of her community service, she received a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002). She married cleric Kenneth Murdoch and they had a son.
She died at the St. Boniface Hospital on 30 September 2022.
“Free Press journalist, author Russell dead at 80” by Erik Pindera, Winnipeg Free Press, 5 October 2022.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 8 October 2022.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 8 October 2022
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
