Mother of Harvard resident
Ellie Russo. (Courtesy photo)
Eleanor R. Russo (Elena), the mother of Louis Russo of Lancaster County Road, died peacefully on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019, in the Care Dimensions Hospice Residence in Lincoln. She was 99.
Elena DiGregorio was born Dec. 27, 1919, in Waltham, a daughter of Italian immigrants Egidio and Teresa (Delfino) DiGregorio. Ellie lived her entire life in Waltham. She married her husband, John L. Russo, on June 16, 1946, in Sacred Heart Church, and she lived for the past 67 years in the Warrendale home that she and John bought a few years after they were married.
A founding member of Saint Jude’s Parish, Ellie was a woman of deep faith whose optimism, strength, and insight brought many to her for advice and support. Always a hard worker, she spent most of her career at Raytheon, retiring in 1985. She loved to dance and met her husband while dancing to the Harry James Orchestra. Ellie was an excellent cook and her multi-course family meals are legendary among her extended family. The memory of her indomitable spirit is a lasting legacy for all who loved her.
She was loved and admired by her three sons, nine grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. She leaves her three sons, John L. Russo Jr. (Susanne) of Hudson, Gregory A. Russo (Luly Ima) of Deerfield Beach, Florida, and Louis D. Russo (Cindy) of Harvard; her grandchildren, Jenna and Blake Russo, Julie O’Driscoll (Daniel), Lisa MacDonald (Daniel), Michael Russo (Erin), Matthew Russo (Franziska Weinberger), Elena Russo (Nathaniel Coughlin), Sarah Russo, and Daniel Russo (Margaret Lim); her great-grandchildren, Claire O’Driscoll, Alyssa and Maria MacDonald, Ryan and Shelby Russo, and Helen and William Coughlin.
Family and friends honored and remembered Elena’s life by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham, on Monday, Jan. 7, and again on Tuesday morning before leaving in procession to Saint Jude Church, 147 Main Street, Waltham, where her Funeral Mass was celebrated. Burial followed in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge.
Memorial donations may be made to Saint Jude Parish, 147 Main Street, Waltham, MA 02453 or Care Dimensions Hospice, 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923..
