Age 76, passed away on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Russ was born in Lackey KY, on June 18, 1944, the son of Johnnie and Pearl (Thornsberry) Meade. Russ lost his daddy in a coal mining accident when he was only 3 years old. He became a Special Education teacher and worked with the blind for 24 years in Montana, mostly on the Native American Reservations. He retired from the Athens School District. He also ran an assisted living home in Coldwater. Russ was an avid guitarist and was well known for his Blue Grass and Old Country pickin’. He was also a singer and played many other musical instruments. His first guitar was made from the wires from a screen door nailed to a board. On April 9, 2012, he married Susan Coniglio Taylor who survives him. Besides his wife, he is survived by his sister, Alma Smith of Sturgis, and Connie Diamond of Hindman, KY;  nieces and nephews, Larry (Sheila) Perkins, Gary (Patty) Perkins, Cheryl Lynn (Dean) Pridemore, Greg (Jane) Perkins, Ray, (Julie) Skaggs, Brenda (Gil) Ravelo Brent (Chelle) Smith, Michael (Jenny) Smith, Brian (Sara) Diamond and Cindy (Michael) Collins; and several great-nieces and nephews; Susan’s children, Dan Taylor, Jim (Penny) Taylor, and Jenny (Barry) Pelton and countless friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Lois Perkins and Edna Rench; brothers, Louis Meade and Edward Gene Meade; and a great-niece, Melissa Smith.