Love, loss, and a legacy of giving: Russell and Marieluise’s story

“Okay,” he began. “Let’s start from the beginning.” 

For more than 50 years, it was just the two of them. He met her at a commissary in Germany in the late 1960s, while stationed overseas. She was working as a cashier, supporting herself from the time she was just 14. He was young, recovering from a breakup, just trying to find some peanut butter and jelly. That was the beginning of a long love story that would stretch across continents, through illness, loss, and finally, into legacy. 

Her name was Marieluise – all one word, no middle initial, a tribute to two grandmothers stitched together into a single name. But to those who knew her, she was simply Luise. 

“She stood on her own two feet her whole life,” Russell Phillips said. “She didn’t do things for recognition. She did them because they were right.”

When Luise died in March of 2023 after a battle with ovarian and colon cancer, she left behind no children, no large extended family – just Russell, their two cats, and a love that remained undimmed. Her loss was devastating, but it also opened the door to something powerful – a way for her generous spirit to continue impacting lives. 

It all started when Russell noticed the butterflies on the wall at Baptist Health Louisville during Luise’s time in palliative care. 

“She loved butterflies,” Russell remembered. 

He found the brochure for the Butterfly Wall tribute program, made a donation in her name, and received an invitation to a remembrance ceremony. That ceremony connected him to the Baptist Health Foundation, and to a new path forward. 

With his heart still healing, he decided to do more. Russell began donating monthly and rewrote his will, leaving a portion of his estate to Baptist Health Foundation’s cancer fund, ensuring that patients in need could afford treatment, transportation, and vital support. He even named Baptist Health a beneficiary of life insurance policies so that more could help others. 

“We’re nowhere near rich – I can’t donate a room or a building,” Russell said. “But with what little I’ve got, I thought I’d take it and work with the foundation.” 

He had already experienced the impact of that kind of help firsthand. During Luise’s treatment, a life-saving cancer medication was estimated to cost up to $100,000 per month. Even after negotiation, the price dropped to $25,000, which was still out of reach. But within hours of the Baptist Health team stepping in, the cost was covered completely, thanks in part to support from donors like he would soon become.

“They called and said, ‘you don't worry about that,’” Russell recalled, still in disbelief. “They explained that donors were involved, and that meant a lot to me. And the palliative care nurses were just out of this world – they did everything for us.” 

In addition to his financial giving, he found comfort in community. The coworkers from his job at Target, where he’s worked part-time for more than 15 years to stay active after retirement, showed up when few others could. They came to Luise's funeral, and stood by his side at the butterfly ceremony. They're now his family, gathering each month in restaurants across town, holding him up through loss. 

Russell also found healing in small routines – like visiting Luise’s gravesite every Sunday without fail and taking time each day to remember her tangible acts of kindness – like crocheting nearly 50 baby blankets for the Center for Women and Families, sealing each one in plastic and delivering them with care. 

“She did everything for everybody,” Russell said.