Arline E. (DeSimone) Russo's Obituary
Arline (DeSimone) Russo, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, aunt and sister, passed away peacefully on February 5, 2024. She was born in Solvay, N.Y. in 1926, the daughter of Joseph and Emma (Delmonico) DeSimone.
Arline was the treasured wife of Christopher for more than 70 years, mother of Christopher Russo, Jr., Barbara Russo, and Karen Russo, and grandmother of Paige Smith and William O’Connell. She was also the middle child of three extremely close sisters, predeceased by dearly missed Elvira (Vera) Honis and Corinne Passarell, and an aunt to her many cherished nieces and nephews.
Arline, known as “Nini” to many, will be remembered as a generous giver of hugs, the first to sneak you a sweet treat when you needed it most, and a wicked player of all kinds of card games.
Growing up in Solvay with her sisters made Arline who she was—she loved nothing more than picking up the phone and catching up with Vera and Corinne to hear about their lives. They taught each other values of honesty, loyalty, and respect, which Arline in turn taught her children and grandchildren. The DeSimone girls traveled with their parents to Los Angeles near the end of WWII, for a new life in the sunshine. After a 3-year journey and many adventures, the familiarity of home (Syracuse) won out.
Being a St. Patrick’s Day baby, Arline always believed in a little luck, and kept her shamrocks close. Whether it was luck or something greater, Arline was always very blessed.
She found the love of her life in Christopher, who she met through Billy Butler, a close friend. She spoke fondly of their honeymoon to Washington, D.C. and traveling with him to Dothan, Alabama when he served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Even just a few months before Christopher’s death, the two danced together in their kitchen in Liverpool, where they lived in the same home for decades. Frank Sinatra was a favorite of theirs.
Her love for children went beyond her family while working in the neighborhood school, Nate Perry Elementary's library, for many years. She worked for Scratch Daniel's Restaurant and Pepsi Co. in her varied work career.
She believed in being a part of a community—whether it was her neighbor Barbara across the street on Jewell Drive, her friends at the Salina Senior Civic Center and the North Syracuse Senior Group, or her dear friends, Peg and Jim Youngs. She relished nothing more than having a coffee and asking her friends how they’d been that week.
And games—Arline loved a good game, whether it was sports games (watching her favorites, SU basketball and the Yankees), game shows, board games, the casino and—most of all—card games. Just don’t try to accuse her of cheating (even though she most likely was peeking when she shouldn’t have been). Her family and friends will forever cherish the memories of those card games.
Family and friends may call on Friday, February 9, 2024, from 4:00 – 6:00 pm, at the THOMAS J. PIRRO JR. FUNERAL HOME, 3401 Vickery Rd. (corner of Buckley Rd.) North Syracuse, NY, with family reflections to follow at 6pm. A short prayer service will be held at 9:00 am on Saturday, February 10, 2024, at the funeral home, followed by a 10 am interment in Our Lady of Peace Cemetery, Rt 57 Baldwinsville, NY.
Donations can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
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