David “Russ” McCracken, 87, of School Street, Rixford, passed away Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at Bradford Manor.

Born May 22, 1938, in Sayre, he was a son of the late Warren and Frances (Stedge) McCracken. Warren died and Frances remarried Ralph Deitz who raised Russ.

Russ attended Sayre High School. He joined the United States Navy on December 21, 1962, where he received his GED. He served in Korea and Vietnam. He was honorably discharged on January 8, 1965.

On August 12, 1961, at the Church of the Epiphany Rectory in Sayre, he married Alice V. (Norton) McCracken who passed away on May 21, 2021.

Russ worked at Ingersol Rand Corporation in Athens, and then as a supervisor at Stowe Manufacturing in Binghamton NY. After he retired, he and his wife moved to Rixford to reside near their daughter. In his retirement he delivered tires for Stoney North, he also truly enjoyed singing and rebuilding small engines and tractors.

Russ was a member of J.E. Wheelock Hose Company, the American Legion in Sayre, Halstead, where he was a Past Tri County Commander, and Eldred, where he held different offices. He was a member of the Eldred VFW, and a former member of the Eagles Club of Bradford.

Surviving is one daughter, Kathleen (A.J.) Curtis of Duke Center, his cherished grandchildren, Dan (Angela) Sullivan of RIxford, and Mary (Trevor) Dowell of RIxford, and one great granddaughter, his precious “Little Alice Kathleen” Dowell, of Rixford, one sister Janet (David) Fortune, of Athens, one brother, LeRoy Hurd, of NC, and several nieces and nephews.

Friends are invited to attend a Celebration of Russ’s life on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at 10am at the Rixford Evangelical Church with the Rev. Mike Rex, officiating. Burial will be in Tioga Point Cemetery in Athens.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Hollenbeck-Cahill Funeral Homes Inc.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.hollennbeckcahill.com