Russell Keith Lee was born in Jasper, Alabama on June 26, 1969 to Willie and Mary Lee.

Russell was a 1988 graduate of Walker High, Jasper, Alabama. After graduation Russell attended Grambling University in Louisiana and finished his Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Russell could be best described as a renaissance man. His love for knowledge, fitness and music sent him on a journey that allowed him to interact with a diverse group of people who loved his warmth and kindness.

Russell was an employee of the Birmingham Library System where he served twenty-five years.  He worked in several locations including the Central Library and his current location at Five Points West. Russell was an avid reader and a lover of biographies of African American vocalists.

Understanding why people made great music was one of his favorite topics. You may be on this subject for an hour; but after the conversation you were amazed at his understanding of music history and the many genres of music that he loved. More importantly he left something with you. Not content with his role at the library , Russell obtained a Masters Degree in Library Science from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in August 2022.  When he talked about library science ,he left something with you. You felt smarter.
Russell was blessed with a variety of talents one of his greatest talents was an accompanist. The piano was his musical weapon of choice. His playing could make you smile or take you to a place of reflection and gratitude to God for his many blessings expressed through music. Whether it was playing with an ensemble or alone, he was knowledgeable enough to use the many forms of music he studied to flow from his mind on the piano. Russell was talented enough to play in a variety of venues but his love was playing for the people of God and giving praise to God. Russell played for a variety of churches including the Historic Sixteenth Street Baptist, Lily Grove Baptist and First Baptist Church in Fairfield. When you heard him play, he left something with you.
Russell started working at the YMCA in 1992 as a group instructor. He taught a variety of classes including spin. Don't think for a minute you would come out of the class without a workout. Everybody left his classes drenched in sweat. He loved to make people sweat. He is most notable for his Freedom Rides in February. This unique program, featured in the Birmingham News, included spinning to spirituals that were meant to keep the body moving and connect to those who sacrificed for our freedom. The classes were never easy and often evoked a tear or two. The classes were hard; it was never intended to be easy. At the end of the class, you were amazed at his creativity and his knowledge of music to tell a story of struggle, and faith, and endurance, and overcoming. Never wanting to be content, you could catch him on any given Saturday warming up a group of runners before a race or giving fitness advice. When you encountered Russell he left something with you.
Instead of mourning for Russel, maybe Russell mourns for us. He rests in the bosom of God and in the company of the ancestors. We are the ones left here. How do we respond to the unthinkable, the unfathomable loss of our dear and beloved friend? How do we honor someone who in his life gave so generously to each of us? We cherish the time we spent with him and use the light of love that he so graciously and abundantly gave with the world. His stories shall live forever. The Holy Scripture reminds us " Blessed are the dead who die

in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." Revelation 21:12-13.
You have labored and toiled. Take your rest with the Almighty.

Russell was preceded in death by his parents, Mary and Willie Lee. Surviving relatives include his brothers, Willie Jr. , Malcolm and Garry, Jasper; his sisters Terrie, Dothan, Myra, Jasper and Rita, Fairfield; an abundance of nieces, nephews and cousins, close friends and his cherished extended family, Terence and Valisa Brown and their sons, Will and Sam.  He also leaves to mourn members and staff of the YMCA, Birmingham Public Library, his cycling group and his church families