A.J. Adriano
It has been an extraordinary privilege to have been loved by Annie Russo. I lost my father in August of 2006 after his battle with Pancreatic Cancer. He passed just over one month before his 50th birthday. I was one month away from starting second grade at the age of 7 at Lillian Drive Elementary School. Shortly after the events of that mournful summer, my school lunch lady generously opened her home across the street and her great heart to my mother and me. Her loving Italian-German-American family graciously welcomed us Filipino-American neighbors as though we had always been part of the already large family.
In the almost 20 years I had shared with my adopted Italian grandmother, there are many memories I can fondly reflect on. From scouring her yard looking for Easter eggs then indulging on Easter Pie, to the barbeques on Memorial Days and Fourth of Julys past, to digging in to the extensive dinner spread on Thanksgiving, to standing on her driveway in the cold on Christmas Eves waiting for Santa to arrive from atop a local fire company’s engine to throw candy to us as the Feast of Seven Fishes awaited on her table – holidays were always special. Yet, what was equally special were the times when there was no special occasion or specific reason to spend time with her and her late husband Johnny - to simply be in their company was reason enough. It is thanks to the many times she invited us over for dinner on Friday nights that when I see pasta e fagioli listed under the “soups” of an Italian restaurant’s menu, I always think it was done in error. She gave me my first taste of soda - IBC cream soda still being one of my favorites to this day. Each of these memories are founded in love, hospitality, generosity, and a whimsical appreciation for the fun aspects of life - all of which form the cornerstones of her character.
What made her who she is and how she shared her time here with us make her passing all the more heartbreaking, but make those special memories all the more cherished. It is an honor to love and remember Annie Russo.
