Our Dad, Carmen Russo, Jr., was always the same person no matter what your relationship was with him…a more genuine person you could never find. Always optimistic and outgoing, his cheerful manner allowed him to lift spirits or even strike up conversations with total strangers. He had a welcoming way about him that put people at ease instantly. He employed this gift to brighten the world during his 85 years. Members of his family dubbed him, “Mr. Mayor” in his later years in keeping with his charismatic aura whether he was conversing with a single person or “working a room.” He was fun to watch.
Carmen served his country during the Korean War but we are all confident that he also served as a great goodwill ambassador in Korea and every country he passed through along the way. During his long working career and even in retirement, Carmen was an auto mechanic, a machinist and a skilled Mr. Fixit of anything fabricated from metal, wood, plastic, etc. He attacked unglamorous, vexing and mundane repairs with gusto….he was the “somebody” people called when a mechanical contraption collapsed or rebelled. Consistent with the approach he used with people, any piece of equipment could be nursed back to health with patience and the right tools.
Carmen faced his final challenge in the form of a glioblastoma diagnosis in 2015. A socket wrench and a spritz of WD-40 would not work this time nor would the skilled efforts of the medical community for an illness that still eludes successful treatment. In July of that year, Mr. Mayor was welcomed as a client at The Abraham House. Despite Carmen’s fatal diagnosis, the staff of the Abraham House filled his final 2 months with respect, dignity and loving care. Unsurprisingly, a symbiotic relationship formed between “Mr. Mayor” and the staff at the Abraham House. Predictable. The perfect client in the hands of a remarkable staff. Carmen’s family remains forever grateful to the Abraham House for their loving care of Carmen, a.k.a., Mr. Mayor until his passing on August 28, 2015.
Frank Russo on behalf of The Russo Family
