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By Charlotte Smith

This year has tested people’s strength like no other time before, and Bladen County has stood up to the challenge. However, this week a true Patriarch, Daniel Leon “Russell” Priest Jr., passed on, leaving a bright torch for us to carry at this challenging time.

When a family loses their father, the pain is indescribable. The Priest family shared their father with Bladen County. Many in the area are saddened and have felt the loss of an admired man.

Words seem void. Time, you wish, would standstill at least for a moment.

Coach Russell Priest was more than words can say… Christian, husband, father, leader, servant, teammate, friend, and the list goes on and on.

He was passionate about important things. His praises to his Creator in his church choir was testimony to his faith; he taught his family and community to lead and put children first by setting an example of how to serve. Coach Priest exhibited the best qualities of a true patriarch.

May we never forget the bright torch Coach Priest blazed the service trails with, and may we all bring honor to his name by serving others.

There will be a funeral service for Coach Priest held tomorrow, Sunday, August 2, 2020, at 3:00 pm at the East Bladen High School Baseball Field in Elizabethtown. Read more about the life well lived by Priest on Bladen Funeral Home’s website.

Instead of flowers, memorials may be sent to the East Bladen High School Russell Priest Endowment Fund, 5600 Hwy 87 East, Elizabethtown, NC 28337 or the Bladen County Shriners Club, P.O. Box 1835, Elizabethtown, NC 28337.

https://bladencounty.org/coach-russell-priest-remembered-for-his-service-loyalty-friendship/

https://bladencounty.org/chairman-of-bladen-county-board-of-commissioners-gives-remarks-on-the-passing-of-commissioner-russell-priest/