Vicke Russell

Victoria Ware Russell of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and formerly of Sturgis, passed away Friday, April 13, 2012, after a brief but courageous battle with cancer.

Vicke, as she was known to her friends and family, was born and raised in Sturgis.

After graduating from Sturgis High School in 1975, she attended Central Michigan University for two years. Vicke then transferred to Western Michigan University, where she graduated in 1979.

Upon graduation, Vicke moved to Traverse City, where she was employed at Munson Medical Center. It was in Traverse City in 1985 that she met her future husband, Jim. In 1987, Jim and Vicke were married and subsequently moved to Jim’s hometown of Cape Elizabeth.

In Maine, Vicke and Jim started a family in 1993 with the birth of daughter, Tori, and again in 1995 with the birth of daughter, Annie. The girls were the focus of the rest of Vicke’s life.

When Annie was diagnosed with JRA at age 2, Vicke became involved with the Arthritis Foundation. Each year, she and the girls would volunteer at the spring walks and the Jingle Bell runs in Freeport.

When the girls were little, Vicke was a Girl Scouts leader and the co-president of the local Mothers Group. For eight years after the girls began school, she volunteered at the Pond Cove library.

At the church, Vicke taught CCD classes for many years and co-chaired the Giving Tree with her good friend, Kelly Dell’Aquila.

As the girls grew older, she became a substitute teacher at the Pond Cove School, working with the special needs children. Her caring manner with these children was amazing.

Over the last couple of years, as the girls became teenagers, Vicke became a concert mother, taking the girls to shows all over New England to watch their favorite bands perform.

When she wasn’t taking care of her family, Vicke’s other passion was reading. It was a rare day when she didn’t have a stack of books on her nightstand.

Vicke is predeceased by her grandmother, Helen Rose Pokorny (Grandma Korny); and her sister, Jennifer Lynn Ware (Jenny).

She is survived by her husband, James; and her two daughters, Tori and Annie. She also is survived by her parents, Rich Ivan Ware and Dolores Dorothy Ware; her other two sisters, Debra Miller and Ann Marie Ware; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Visiting hours will be held from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road, South Portland, Maine. A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Thursday at Saint Bartholomew’s Church in Cape Elizabeth. Vicke will be laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery. A luncheon will be held at the reception hall of the church.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested a book donation to the Pond Cove Elementary School library in Vicke’s name be considered.