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When it comes to longest-married couples in the archdiocese, Russo is the name to remember this year.
That’s because both the first and second longest-married couples share that last name. They are Connie and Daniel Russo of St. Andrew’s parish in Lower Manhattan, who celebrated their 75th anniversary on Sept. 15, and Rosina and George Russo of St. Benedict’s parish in the Bronx, who marked their 74th anniversary on Nov. 13.
They were recognized in the annual longest-married couple search conducted by the archdiocesan Family Life/Respect Life Office in conjunction with World Marriage Day sponsored by Worldwide Marriage Encounter and celebrated on St. Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. On that day, many of the longest-married couples from around the archdiocese were acknowledged at Masses in their parish churches.
Although the two Russo families are not related, they share some similarities along with their last name. Both are New York City Catholic families of Italian background. The husbands worked for many years in the same jobs, Daniel as a truck driver for Breakstone and George as a tailor, while the wives were primarily homemakers and involved in the thriving garment trade, in Connie’s case as a seamstress while Rosina took in sewing projects at home.
Connie and Daniel Russo were married at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral and lived for many years in an apartment on Lafayette Street. Both have been lifelong residents of Manhattan; Connie had grown up in the same tenement building before she was married, and Daniel lived just a block away.
Their adult daughter, Theresa, who now lives with them in another Lower Manhattan apartment, fondly recalls life growing up with her parents and older brother, Joseph.
“We never had a lot but I never felt we were missing anything,” she said.
Her parents both instilled the value of education in their children, and she said one of the proudest moments in their lives was when her brother was selected to attend Regis High School, the Jesuit-run, scholarship school for boys. He would go on to attend Fordham University, and Theresa attended Cathedral High School and then Pace University.
Joseph is married with two children and three grandchildren.
Daniel Russo is 100 years old and his wife is 98. Their daughter said they were always totally devoted to one another. Although her parents are not in the best of health today, when Theresa brings her mother to see her dad in bed, he immediately brightens and says, “How’s my girlfriend?”
Over the course of eight decades, 75 years of marriage plus a five-year courtship, they came through their share of tough times together. There was never a thought of backing away from each other or their marriage when trouble approached.
“Today, people don’t look upon marriage the same way,” Theresa said. “Years ago, my parents and others entered into marriage as a forever thing.”
Rosina and George Russo’s love story actually began as children in San Buono, Italy. George, then 8, would get out of school first with the boys and then wait to walk home with his friend, Rosina, then 6. Even then, they were called “the bride and groom,” many years before their small church wedding in that town in the Abruzzi region.
“They were always together,” said their daughter Ann Occhicone, who remembers her parents moving in tandem, whether the task was yard work, shopping, babysitting grandchildren or hosting Sunday dinners.
The one time they were separated was when George came to the United States first, a year before his wife and oldest daughter, now Julie Levine. They also have a third daughter, Rosemary Crosetti. Today, the Russos are the proud grandparents of six and great-grandparents of seven.
Now 94 and 92, the Russos offered a few simple words of advice for other couples: listen to each other, always be willing to reach an understanding and compromise, and remember that family is most important.
That lesson about family has resonated with their children and all their other relatives, Mrs. Occhicone said. She remembers all the Sunday dinners, backyard barbecues, and holiday and anniversary celebrations that her parents hosted, and now she attempts to do the same for her own family.
The family felt glad to be able to participate in the World Marriage Day celebration with Rosina and George at St. Benedict’s Church, their parish of the past 40 years, on St. Valentine’s Day.
“We feel blessed that they’ve been here with us for so long,” Mrs. Occhicone said.
