Julie Irene Meissner

“Live in joy, live in gratitude, LIVE OUTSIDE.”

Julie lost her 2 year battle with breast cancer on January 13, 2026 , at age 75 with her loving husband, Pat Russell, and her wonder dog, Sabeena, by her side until the end.

Julie was born in Salem, Oregon and grew up at Odell Lake working at the family boat marina. She attended junior high, high school and college in Bend, spent most of her time ski racing, then joined the outdoor working world.

She spent about ten years working in a variety of outdoor jobs. She spent her winters coaching ski teams at Bogus Basin and Mt. Bachelor, teaching telemark skiing, pro patrolling at Crystal Mountain and working for K2 ski company. Summers were spent as a wilderness ranger in the Three Sisters Wilderness and on a helitack wild land fire crew.

In 1981 she moved to Stanley, Idaho and found her true home and the love of her life. She moved there to work as a backcountry ski guide in winters and found herself working as a river and fishing guide in summers. She lived her summers on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River along with the Main Salmon, Bruneau, and Owyhee Rivers. She founded, managed and eventually sold a fishing business, Sawtooth Fishing Guides, for ten years then guided for many more years after selling it. She spent about 25 years as a ski guide in the Sawtooth and Teton mountain areas with 5 of those years managing and guiding cat skiing at Grand Targhee ski area. She loved that she had an Idaho guides license for 43 years and loved that guiding was where she found herself working in both summer and winter.

The joy and gratitude she found in her friendships with the people she worked with, played with and met though her years as a guide brought a smile and tears to her face.

The greatest joy of her life was falling in love forever with Pat Russell. Together they did many construction projects, traveled to incredible places around the world and always loved each other and the home they built together in the Sawtooth Mountain area. Hiking, skiing and exploring never got old and they continued doing those until the end.

She is survived by her husband Pat, her perfect dog, Sabeena, her sister Jane and brother Ernie, her step daughter Noelani Hamilton and family and her step son Josh Russell and family. She leaves thanks and gratitude for all the wonderful friends and co-workers who blessed her life. So much joy sharing days with them.

Whatever else. Enough already.

In lieu of flowers, if you would like to give a donation in memory of Julie to the Salmon River Clinic in Stanley, Idaho or the Idaho Chapter for Casting for Recovery, it would be appreciated.

A celebration in honor of Julie may be announced in the future. Go ski.