Marie "Mary" Russo

MARIE ("MARY") RUSSO (nee DiVincenzo), age 88, died peacefully in her home in Port St. Lucie on July 22, 2013. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and lived for many years in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, before becoming a Florida resident.

Mary spent 59 years married to the love of her life, Michael Thomas Russo, whom she met in 1946 when her brother Don brought his Army Air Corps buddy home for a visit. Mary made a warm and loving home for Michael and their daughters, allowing Michael to start and develop a successful plastics injection molding business. Their family company, M R Products, celebrated its 53rd anniversary this year with Mary still listed as Board Chair.

Mary was active in her church and community, and loved traveling, reading, and most of all being with her family. Her Catholic faith was a central mainstay of her life. Those who knew her would describe her as sweet, generous, and kind, with a youthful energy that she passed on to her descendants. She had many wonderful friends, young and old, whom she loved dearly. Having grown up working in her parents' Italian restaurant, she was a phenomenal cook and enjoyed feeding – actually overfeeding – her family and friends. She was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Port. St. Lucie and St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. She also held memberships at Pine Lake Country Club in Orchard Lake, Michigan, and Ballantrae Golf & Yacht Club in Port St. Lucie.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Anthony and Serafina (nee Angelone) DiVincenzo; her brothers, Don (Josephine), Edward (Rose), and Harry (Francis); her sister, Dolores "Lolly" Harris (Kenneth); her husband, Michael Thomas Russo; and her daughter, Michele Russo Jillson. She is survived by her daughter Maree Russo Mulvoy and husband James of Port St. Lucie, Florida; grandchildren Alison Clark and husband Stephen of St. Louis, Missouri; Terrance Barber and husband Joseph of Palm City, Florida; Patricia Kipnis and husband Daniel of Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Emily Kornegay and husband Cliff of Washington, D.C.; Nicholas Jillson and fiancée Anne Bergeron of Boston, Massachusetts; brother-in-law Joseph Russo (Lillian, deceased) of Walton Hills, Ohio; and numerous loving nieces and nephews.

Mary was known as "GG" to her eight adored great-grandchildren: Eloise, Noah, Tessa, Cruz, Ariana, Brady, Elinor and Caroline. They were a source of great joy and energy to her in the years since the loss of both her husband and her elder daughter in 2006. She was especially looking forward to the annual August family reunion when she passed.

The family is planning a memorial to be held in Port St. Lucie for the fall.