Norfolk City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Russo, Rocco L. February 1, 2001 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Robert Woolfitt http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00034.html#0008401 August 3, 2022, 12:46 pm Virginian-Pilot February 3, 2001 VIRGINIA BEACH - Rocco L. Russo, 76, of Richardson Road, died peacefully at his home on Feb. 1, 2001. He was the son of Augustine Joseph and Josephine Rossano Russo, born April 15, 1924, in Norfolk, and attended Sacred Heart School, Holy Trinity High School, Norfolk Division of William and Mary and received his degree in chemistry from East Carolina University. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II with the 116th regiment of the 29th Infantry Division. He landed with the First Wave on Omaha Beach, and fought in the hedgerows of Normandy until he was wounded on Aug. 4, 1944. When he returned to combat, he joined an artillery company and, with them, participated in the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp. As a participant in those historical days, he spoke to school children and many other groups in the community with the goal that that part of history not be forgotten, but more importantly, that it never be repeated. His career in the chemical fertilizer business began with Weaver and Smith- Douglass in Norfolk and he served as director of production of Beker Industries of Greenwich, Conn. In 1988, he returned to Norfolk to serve as a plant manager for The Royster Company. In his retirement, he was active in the Bayside Lions Club, Post 5 of the 29th Division Association, and St. Gregory's Church, the Norfolk Sports Club, and the Notre Dame Club of Southeastern Virginia. He was a great lover of sports, especially baseball. He was a catcher for Holy Trinity and William and Mary and played on league teams in the area. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Mary (Midge) Russo and six children: five sons, Chuck, of Bloomington, Ind., John, of Gainesville, Ga., Tom, of Dacula, Ga., Patrick, of Overland Park, Kan., and Anthony, of Arlington, Va.; and one daughter, Mary Jo Henke, of Rhinebeck N.Y.; together with their spouses and 13 grandchildren. Also surviving are brothers, Philip L. Russo and Augustine J. Russo Jr.; and a sister, Antoinette Finegan. He was predeceased by his sister, Mary Elizabeth Annunziata. Funeral services for Mr. Russo will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Sacred Heart Church, Norfolk. A Wake service will be at H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Colonial Ave., Norfolk, at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the National World War II Memorial Foundation, American Battle Monuments Commission, P.O. Box 96766, Washington, DC 20090-6766, or the National MS Society, National Capital Chapter, 2021 K. Street N.W., Suite 715, Washington, DC 20006. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/norfolkcity/obits/r/russo4072nob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/vafiles/ File size: 3.2 Kb