Janet Lee Constantine: She Announced His Death, Then Disappeared Back Into Silence

On the night of November 12 or 13, 2016 — the exact hour is not recorded — Leon Russell died in his sleep at his home in Hermitage, Tennessee. He was 74 years old. He had survived a cardiac event that summer. He had been planning to tour again in January.

The next morning, his wife of 33 years posted a statement on his official Facebook page.

“We thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this very, very difficult time. My husband passed in his sleep in our Nashville home. He was recovering from heart surgery in July and looked forward to getting back on the road in January. We appreciate everyone’s love and support.”

That statement — functional, warm, private even in its grief — is the most substantial piece of Janet Lee Constantine’s public voice that exists anywhere. She signed it Jan Bridges, the name she went by in family and personal life. Then she stepped back from public view entirely.

She has not spoken to media since.

Quick Facts

Detail	Information
Full name	Janet Lee Constantine
Also known as	Jan Bridges, Janet Lee Constantine Bridges
Date of birth	Not publicly disclosed
Birthplace	Not publicly documented
Nationality	American
Husband	Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges), married February 6, 1983
Marriage duration	1983 until Leon’s death, November 13, 2016 — 33 years
Children (with Leon)	Sugaree Noel Bridges (b. October 9, 1982), Honey Bridges (b. January 19, 1986), Coco Bridges (b. April 29, 1990)
Stepchildren	Tina Rose Bridges (Leon’s daughter, pre-Janet); Teddy Jack Bridges and a daughter from prior relationship (children from Leon’s first marriage to Mary McCreary)
Leon Russell’s prior wife	Mary McCreary (m. 1975, div. October 3, 1980)
Leon’s death	November 13, 2016, Hermitage, Tennessee
Funeral	November 18, 2016, Victory Baptist Church, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
Career	Not publicly documented
Net worth	Not publicly confirmed
Residence (post-2016)	Not publicly confirmed
Social media	None verified

Who Janet Lee Constantine Is — And What The Record Actually Says

Most articles about Janet Lee Constantine contain more speculation than fact. They describe her as warm, private, devoted, and strong. They attribute personality traits to her without sources. They fill the gaps in her biography with assumption dressed as description.

The honest version is much shorter.

Her birthdate is unknown. Her birthplace is unknown. Her education is undocumented. Her career before she married Leon Russell is unrecorded. Her background — family, upbringing, where she came from — has never entered the public record in any verified form. Not a single article cites a source for any claim about her personal history before 1983.

What is confirmed is this: she married Leon Russell on February 6, 1983. She used the name Jan Bridges in personal life, taking the family name Leon himself had been born with — Claude Russell Bridges. She raised three daughters. She was with him for 33 years. When he died, she told the world.

That is the actual documented record.

The Name Situation — More Complicated Than It Looks

Leon Russell was not born Leon Russell. He was born Claude Russell Bridges in Lawton, Oklahoma on April 2, 1942. He adopted the stage name Leon Russell early in his career and used it professionally for his entire public life.

Janet Lee Constantine carried the legal surname Constantine before marriage. In personal life she became Jan Bridges — using the birth surname of her husband’s family rather than his stage name. Her full combined identity as used in media coverage after Leon’s death was Janet Lee “Jan” Constantine Bridges.

That layering of names — Constantine professionally, Bridges personally, Russell publicly by association — has created confusion in various articles. Some sources list her simply as “Janet Lee Constantine.” Others use “Jan Bridges.” A few use the full combined form. They are all referring to the same woman.

Before The Wedding — The Sugaree Detail

This is the fact that almost every article skips.

Leon Russell and Janet Lee Constantine married on February 6, 1983. Their daughter Sugaree Noel Bridges was born on October 9, 1982 — approximately four months before the wedding.

This is not a minor detail. It means their relationship had already produced a child before they formalized it legally. It is documented in multiple sources including Wikipedia’s article on Leon’s final album, which directly states the birth date.

No source explains the gap. No article discusses it. Leon had been through a difficult divorce from his first wife, Mary McCreary, which was finalized on October 3, 1980. The timeline suggests Leon and Janet became seriously involved in the early 1980s, had Sugaree, and then married.

Whether the marriage was delayed deliberately, for practical reasons, or simply because that was how things unfolded — nobody has said. But the four-month gap between Sugaree’s birth and the wedding is in the record, and it deserves to be acknowledged rather than silently omitted.

The Marriage — Thirty-Three Years In The Music Business

By the time Janet married Leon in 1983, he had already lived several careers. He had been a teenage club player in Tulsa. A Hollywood session musician who played on records by the Beach Boys and Dick Dale. A founding figure of the Shelter Records era. A rock and roll star with sold-out tours. A man whose song “A Song for You” had already been recorded by dozens of artists and would eventually be covered by more than 200.

He had also had a brain injury at birth that caused slight paralysis on his right side, shaping the distinctive physical style he developed at the keyboard. He was not an easy person to be around in the touring years — the music business in that era was not gentle, and Leon was not a simple man.

Janet married him anyway. They had two more daughters after Sugaree — Honey in January 1986, and Coco in April 1990. They raised three girls together. They built a life in the Nashville area, far from the entertainment machinery of Los Angeles where Leon had made his early career.

By the 1990s, Leon’s profile had quieted. He was still recording, still performing, but the peak years were behind him. Then in 2010 Elton John — who had been a vocal admirer of Leon for decades — made a duet album with him called The Union, produced by T Bone Burnett. It brought Leon back to widespread attention. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year, in 2011.

Janet was with him through the quiet years and the revival. She was there when a new generation discovered what the older one already knew.

Leon’s Health — The Final Years

In 2010, around the same time The Union was released, Leon underwent significant heart surgery. He recovered. He continued performing. He continued recording.

In July 2016, he suffered another cardiac event — sources describe it as a heart attack, with successful resuscitation. He was recovering at home in Hermitage, Tennessee. He had upcoming tour dates planned for January 2017. The final album he had recorded, On a Distant Shore, was complete and awaiting release.

He died in his sleep sometime between the night of November 12 and the morning of November 13, 2016. Janet was there. She made the call. She wrote the statement.

The Death Announcement — Her Most Public Moment

The statement Janet Lee Constantine posted to Leon Russell’s official Facebook page on November 13, 2016 is the only documented direct public communication she is known to have made in her own voice. It was quoted in full by every major outlet that covered the death — Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Boot, ABC News, the Washington Post. It was circulated millions of times.

It is 52 words long.

She thanked fans for their prayers. She confirmed the location — their Nashville home. She referenced the July surgery. She mentioned his plans to tour again. She asked for love and support.

She did not describe what the morning had been like. She did not talk about finding him. She did not perform grief for an audience. She said what needed to be said, signed it Jan Bridges, and closed the statement.

It is one of the most restrained public communications from a spouse in the immediate hours after a famous husband’s death that exists in modern entertainment coverage. In an era of real-time grief performance, she wrote 52 words and stopped.

The Funeral — Public and Private at Once

The funeral was held on November 18, 2016 at Victory Baptist Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. It was open to the public. A second service was held on November 20 at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma — Leon’s home state, where he had grown up and where his career first took shape.

Leon was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa.

The official obituary from the Tulsa World listed his survivors. Janet — listed as his wife of 38 years under the name Jan Bridges — was named first. The daughters followed: Tina Rose Bridges (Leon’s daughter from before Janet, with her fiancé Rod Schindler), Sugaree Taloa Noel Bridges (with her fiancé Gianny Muller), Honey Bridges, and Coco Bridges. Also listed: son Teddy Jack Bridges (from Leon’s first marriage to Mary McCreary), and grandchildren Payton Goodner, China Rose Goodner, and Tiger Lily Schindler.

Note on the “38 years” figure: the Tulsa World obituary says “wife of 38 years,” which would place the relationship’s beginning around 1978 — years before the 1983 wedding. This is likely counting from when they first became a couple rather than from the marriage date. The wedding was definitively February 6, 1983. This is not a significant discrepancy but it is worth flagging as a detail that has caused confusion in secondary sources.

The Daughters — Janet’s Lasting Contribution to Leon’s Legacy

Of the three daughters Janet raised with Leon, two have visible connections to music.

Sugaree Noel Bridges was born October 9, 1982 — the oldest, born before the marriage. In 2010, she released an album called The American Dream on Leon Russell Records, her father’s label. It was her first solo release.

Coco Bridges was born April 29, 1990. She sang backing vocals on Leon’s final album, On a Distant Shore, which was recorded in 2016 and released posthumously in September 2017. She also painted the album cover. Sugaree also contributed backing vocals to the same album. In a real sense, Leon’s last recorded work features the voices of his daughters — a detail that has not gone unnoticed in reviews of the album.

Honey Bridges was born January 19, 1986. She is the least publicly visible of the three. No confirmed music career or public profile has been documented.

These three daughters are Janet’s most traceable legacy — children who grew up inside the music and who carry pieces of it forward.

On a Distant Shore — The Album That Frames Everything

Leon Russell recorded On a Distant Shore in 2016, before his death. He knew he was not well. He reportedly told his wife he considered it his favorite of all his recordings. It was released on September 22, 2017, nearly a year after he died.

The album is full of awareness. The title track includes the line: “Sounds like a funeral for some person here / And I might be the one.” Sugaree and Coco sang backing harmonies on it. The family is present in the sound of the record.

Janet did not speak publicly about the album’s release. She had already spoken. She had done it in 52 words in November 2016 and had nothing left to say for public consumption.

What Is Known vs. What Is Not

Confirmed or well-sourced:

• Full name: Janet Lee Constantine; also known as Jan Bridges, Janet Lee Constantine Bridges
• Married Leon Russell on February 6, 1983
• Daughter Sugaree Noel Bridges born October 9, 1982 (four months before wedding)
• Daughter Honey Bridges born January 19, 1986
• Daughter Coco Bridges born April 29, 1990
• Lived in Nashville/Hermitage, Tennessee area with Leon
• Leon died in their home, November 13, 2016
• She posted the death announcement on his official Facebook page
• Attended and managed funeral logistics (Victory Baptist Church, November 18, 2016; Tulsa services November 20, 2016)
• Has not given any media interviews or public statements since Leon’s death
• No confirmed social media presence

Unverified or undisclosed:

• Birth date — not in any public record
• Birthplace — not documented anywhere
• Education and career history — entirely absent from all sources
• How and when she and Leon first met — no confirmed account
• What her life has looked like since November 2016
• Current residence
• Whether she has any involvement in managing Leon’s estate or music catalog
• Net worth — no figure confirmed
• The “38 years” relationship start date — likely 1978 but not confirmed

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FAQ — 12 Real Questions

1. Who is Janet Lee Constantine?

 She is the second wife of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell, whom she married on February 6, 1983. She is also known as Jan Bridges. She raised three daughters with Leon — Sugaree Noel, Honey, and Coco Bridges — and announced his death publicly in November 2016 via a statement on his official Facebook page. She has maintained complete privacy since.

2. What is her birth date? 

Unknown. No birthdate or birth year for Janet Lee Constantine appears in any public record. Multiple sources confirm the information simply does not exist in the public domain.

3. Where is she from?

 Not documented. No birthplace, hometown, or early life information for Janet Lee Constantine has ever been published in any verified source.

4. Why is she also called Jan Bridges?

 Leon Russell was born Claude Russell Bridges. “Russell” was a stage name. In personal and family life, Janet used the Bridges surname — becoming Jan Bridges — rather than the stage name. In media coverage after Leon’s death, she was identified as Janet Lee “Jan” Constantine Bridges.

5. When did she and Leon marry? 

February 6, 1983. They had been together before that — their daughter Sugaree Noel was born four months earlier, in October 1982. The official marriage date is confirmed across all sources.

6. How many children did she have with Leon? 

Three daughters: Sugaree Noel Bridges (born October 9, 1982), Honey Bridges (born January 19, 1986), and Coco Bridges (born April 29, 1990). Leon also had children from prior relationships — Tina Rose Bridges, Teddy Jack Bridges, and an earlier daughter — who are Janet’s stepchildren.

7. Were any of her daughters musicians? 

Yes. Sugaree Noel Bridges released a solo album, The American Dream, on Leon Russell Records in 2010. Coco Bridges sang backing vocals on Leon’s final album, On a Distant Shore (recorded 2016, released 2017), and also painted the album’s cover artwork. Sugaree also sang backing vocals on the same album.

8. How did Leon Russell die? 

Leon died in his sleep on November 13, 2016, at their home in Hermitage, Tennessee. He was 74 years old. He had undergone heart surgery in July 2016 and had been recovering. He had tour dates planned for January 2017.

9. What did Janet say when he died? 

She posted a 52-word statement on Leon’s official Facebook page. She thanked fans for their prayers, confirmed he had passed in his sleep at their Nashville home, referenced his recovery from July surgery, and noted he had been looking forward to touring again. It was the only public statement she made.

10. Was Leon Russell’s last album released after his death? 

Yes. On a Distant Shore was recorded in 2016 and released on September 22, 2017 — nearly a year after Leon’s death. His daughters Sugaree Noel and Coco sang on it. Leon reportedly told Janet he considered it his favorite album. It was released on Palmetto Records.

11. What happened at his funeral?

 Two services were held. The first was on November 18, 2016 at Victory Baptist Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee — open to the public. The second was on November 20, 2016 at the Oral Roberts University Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Leon was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa.

12. Where is Janet Lee Constantine now? 

Unknown. She has not appeared in any media, made any public statements, or maintained any verified social media presence since announcing Leon’s death in November 2016. Her current location and activities are not publicly documented. She is, by all indications, exactly where she has always preferred to be — completely out of view.