Joseph A. Russo

A true Renaissance Man! Many fond and precious memories of Joseph including his brilliance with languages, cooking, Greek literature and music. He was a passionate man who lived life to the fullest. We enjoyed walks with him at Haverford College, Christmas Sing a longs, and summer reunions in Ocean City. He adored his family and no they were (no doubt) his biggest source of pride. He instilled the aptitude for learning and traveling with everybody he met. He leaves a great legacy...

I first met Joe Russo as a student, dazzled by his brilliant and far-reaching insights into the beauty of Greek literature, and energized by his infectious brio, zest for intellectual adventure, and warm, nurturing personality. We clicked as people too, keeping in close touch after graduation throughout what turned into a 50-year friendship, which only recently ended with his death. He made his mark in papers rigorously analyzing and categorizing the memorized jazz-like verbal riffs...

I have told this before. One summer, about my last year in college, Joe and I shared a tent on Big Turtle Island on Lake George. We rented the site, the tent and the kerosene lamp from Lamb Brothers. The first night, Joe left his cot, and by the dim, dull orange(nearly brown) light of the kerosene flame I saw Joe, in his summer underwear, bent over a page of The Iliad like some devout worshipper at his night prayers. When he had finished, he extinguished the light and joyfully leapt into bed....