Harold R. Russell

Harold Russell, an audit and accounting practitioner who received national recognition for his role in the 1980 issuance of the Qualified Opinion and Adverse Management Letter On Penn Square Bank and served as Managing Partner in the Oklahoma City offices of both Arthur Young & Co. and Coopers & Lybrand, died December 6 at Integris Medical Center.

The cause of death was bleeding and swelling of the brain after suffering a severe concussion & skull fracture on November 30. Russell and his wife had just finished hanging a Christmas wreath on the front of their home and he was off the ladder when a gust of wind caught the extension ladder propelling it onto the couple, knocking them off the porch and onto the driveway, where Russell fell fully backward cracking his head on the concrete. Mrs. Russell was only slightly injured, the family said.

Russell is survived by his wife of 48 years Joniel Foster Russell; his son David Russell, a parter with Tulsa attorneys Rodolf & Todd; his daughter, Sondra Russell, a media analyst with NPR in Washington, D.C.; his granddaughter, Kathryn Alice Devlin of Springfield, VA; and his sister, Shirley Simoncic of Frontenac, KS. Other Kansas family members include a brother-in-law, Frank Simoncic, Frontenac; a nephew and his family, Rick and Jacque Simoncic, Jordan, Victoria, Caitlyn and Marisa, of Hollenberg,; and a nephew and his family, Ron and Christy Simoncic, Hunter and Fisher, of Galesburg. Oklahoma family members include his daughter-in-law, Cassy Russell; a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Bill and Sharon Foster Rhees; a nephew and his family, Philip and Gena Rhees, Corey and Rachel; a nephew, Patrick Rhees, all of Tulsa; a sister-in-law, Robbie Foster of Bethany. Other family members are a nephew and his family,Scott and Anita Foster, Carrie Anne Foster and Adam Cotton, of Spotsylvania, VA; and a niece, Kerry Joniel Foster, of Ketchikan, Alaska.

He was born in Ft. Scott, KS, April 4, 1934. Russell received his B.S. in in Business Administration from Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS; MBA, Indiana University, and Advanced Management Program, Columbia University, NY. He served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Finance Corps.

Russell had the audit responsibilities for large multi-national integrated oil and gas companies, as well as independent drillers, refiners and operators, oil field service companies, pipeline companies and petroleum marketing companies during his career. Russell was the Arthur Young & Co. partner-in-charge of Phillips Petroleum Company, Amerada-Hess’s exploration and production operations, Sinclair Oil and Gas Company and some 45 other independent oil and gas related complies.

While with Arthur Young & Company, Russell’s role in the Penn Square bank aftermath took him to Washington, D.C. where he was commended by the Congressional Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs for his knowledgeable testimony. In 1987, he served as an Expert Witness for Ernst & Whinney in their successful defense of alleged violations of securities regulations arising out of the FDIC’s closing of Continental Illinois Bank.

Russell served the American Institute of CPA’s and the accounting profession in leadership capacities with the AICPA’s Bank Accounting and Auditing Committee as chairman of the Sub-Committee to revise the Bank Audit Guide, with its Committee on Relations with the Federal Energy Administration as Chairman and with President Nixon’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee on Internal Auditing in the Department of Defense as member and report writing coordinator and editor.

Russell was an active leader in civic and community organizations in Oklahoma City. He served as president of the Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra, the Committee of 100 and the Oklahoma Museum of Art and was a trustee of the Oklahoma Art Center. He also served on the board and held offices in the Men’s Dinner Club, Nichols Hills United Methodist Church, Economic Club of Oklahoma City and the St. Anthony Hospital Foundation. He was a member of the Oklahoma City Rotary Club and the Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club.

Memorial services will be held Friday, December 16th at 2pm at the Nichols Hills United Methodist Church, 1212 Bedford Drive. A reception will follow. Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army or Pope Lecture Series at the Nichols Hills United Methodist Church. Ashes were interred in the Russell family plots in the Centerville Cemetery near his childhood home of Fort Scott, Kansas. To offer a memory or condolence, contact Hahn-Cook Street & Draper Funeral Home.

Arrangements under the direction of Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper Funeral Directors, Oklahoma City, OK.