1925 – 2014

AUBURN — Russell E. Phelan, 88, passed away peacefully at his home in Auburn on Thursday, Jan. 30, while attended by his wife and his two children.

He was born in Fitchburg, Mass., on Oct. 26, 1925, the son of James S. Phelan of Milton, Nova Scotia and Mabel Morse of Nashua, N.H. Russell grew up in Ayer, Mass.

He joined the U.S. Navy in 1942, and completed basic training at the U.S. Naval Training Station in Great Lakes, Ill., in December 1942. He was a seaman first class, serving on LST No. 30 during the first wave of the D-Day invasion of Normandy on Omaha Beach, after which he re-enlisted and joined the newly formed Air Force. He served in post-war Germany, and on several Air Force bases in the United States and Africa. He retired in 1967, when he began a successful career in the construction business.

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Takahara, of Auburn; his son, Michael P. Phelan, of Rochester, N.H.; and his daughter, Kelly J. Morse, of Farmington, N.H.; his two grandchildren, Christopher Davis and Sarah Morse; and two great-grandchildren, Seth and Riley Davis.

You are invited to offer condolences and pay tribute to Russell’s life by visiting his guest book at www.thefortingroupauburn.com.