Russell Howard Rickert
Russell Howard Rickert, 93, of Lynchburg, Virginia passed away into the loving arms of his Savior on February 2, 2026. He was the beloved husband of Jane Rickert for 54 years.
Born on January 6, 1933 in Livingston, New Jersey, Russell was the son of the late John Blair Rickert and Florence Borah Rickert. He was preceded in death by his four brothers.
Russell joined the Navy during the Korean War and worked stateside in Naval Aviation. He was a proud veteran and wore his Korea War Veteran hat daily.
He attended Nyack College in New York, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Theology. He was an ordained minister with the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination. He built and pastored three churches over the years, as well as doing itinerant preaching in the Albany, New York area. He was the Sunday School Superintendent and a member of the Board of Elders of our church in New York for many years. He eventually earned a Master's Degree in Education from SUNY-New Paltz.
Russell spent his life as a dedicated educator. He was a teacher, principal and professor, spending 35 years with Ichabod Crane Public Schools in Valatie, New York. He “retired” multiple times and finally retired ”for good” from Liberty University, where he worked as an adjunct professor until the age of 87. He dedicated himself to pour into students and friends that needed someone the most, and made a lasting impact on the lives of so many people. He loved the LORD, the Word of God, his family and all the people who came into his life. He was blessed with a gift of connecting with people and he never met a stranger, claiming many as part of his family. Russell was a member of Thomas Road Baptist Church for many years.
In addition to his wife, Russell is survived by his eight children: Rebecca Russell (Joel) of California, Thomas Rickert (Lynn) of Illinois, Rae Ciardi of Tennessee, Ruth Phillips (Charles) of Tennessee, Lisa Bolen (Richard) of South Carolina, Paul Rickert (Michelle) of Maryland, Beth Schrock (Marlin) of Virginia and Mark Rickert (Kristin) of Utah; eighteen grandchildren: Blake Russell (Jesica), Ben Russell, Susanna Russell, Seth Rickert, Kari Sommerville (Kurt), Natalie Rickert, Alisha Kushner (Lucas), Nicholas Ciardi, Adam Taylor (Lauren), Lauren Haliburton (Taylor), Zachary Taylor (Danielle), Jacob Rickert, Sophia Rickert, Chloe Rickert, Kylie Schrock, Jaina Schrock, Brett Weigman (Kristine Preiser) and Sean McCarthy; seven great-grandchildren; one sister, Jeannine Rickert, of Pennsylvania; and many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life will be held at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at Whitten Timberlake Chapel with Rev. Rick Rasberry officiating. For those who are not able to come to the service, it will be live-streamed at the following link: http://russrickertservice.marlinschrock.com/
The family will welcome friends for visitation one hour prior to the service.
The family requests anyone wishing to make donations, please consider Thomas Road Baptist Church, 1 Mountainview Road, Lynchburg, VA 24502.
