Russell Dean Hartwell

Russell “Russ” Dean Hartwell of Fort Saskatchewan passed away on March 31, 2024 at the age of 59, after a brief illness.

Anybody who knew Russ knew of his love for his family.  Russ is survived by Leslie, his loving wife of over 20 years who he loved with all his heart.   His sons, Tyler (Brianne) and Rob (Lindsey) and grandchildren Bennett and Bray were always on his mind and close to his heart.  Russ is also survived by his siblings Sue (Greg), and Wayne (Louise).  Russ had a deep fondness of all his nieces and nephews including niece Haleigh (Carter), Jenn (Tyler), Neil (Amber) and his great nieces and nephews Emerson, Uriyah and Oakley.

Russ lived in Lloydminster for 35 years, building strong roots and lifelong friends in the community.  While living there, Russ worked for Universal Industries for 20 years as a Red Seal crane operator and had the skills only met by few.  It was a time where working in the oil patch meant working and playing hard, becoming loyal friends with co-workers that continued even 30 to 40 years later.   Russ spent the next almost 15 years working for Cenovus at Foster Creek where bonds were made with new friends and coworkers.

Russ was known to be a man of few words and could say a whole paragraph with just a single sentence.  He laughed hard and always made you feel important to him.  He was a loyal friend who was always willing to lend a hand, especially if it came to fixing things. Russ had the self-taught mechanical skill to fix anything with an engine and truly loved being in the garage working on these things.

If it was loud and went fast it was everything to Russ.  His lifelong dream of owning a Harley Davidson, after finally wearing his wife down, was realized when he bought a 2014 Breakout in the Spring of 2023.  Russ spent that year riding almost 2,500 kms.  He was never so happy then when he came home from a nice long ride.

He will be missed so much by all those he loved. As per Russ’ request there will be no funeral or memorial service.