Lolly was born and raised in Old Forge, the eldest girl in a family of 10 children. She became the consummate caregiver very early on with so many younger siblings to look after.

Lolly married her first love, Salvatore Russo, in 1953.

They began their own family in Woodbury, NJ and were soon transferred to Beaumont, TX where Lolly was a beloved member of the community.

While raising her own four children, Thomas, her second child, being severely cognitively disabled, Lolly worked full-time at the Angie Nall School, a boarding school for children with special needs. Although she worked as bookkeeper for the school during the day she often worked overnight weekend hours as den mother for a small group of disabled boys who she loved like they were her own.

While in Beaumont, Lolly was very active in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church and sang soprano in the church choir. Once the family joined the Olympian Swim Club and it became clear everyone would be a competitive swimmer, Lolly became an active supporter of the swim team and helped to establish the swim team program in the nearby town Silsbee, TX where she coached the team for several years.

The family was transferred to Wilmington, DE in 1973 where Lolly continued to support her children’s many athletic and school activities, became active with the Silverside Swim Club swim team program, taught swim lessons and assured Thomas would be a high school graduate.

She continued to work full-time, using her bookkeeping skills in the billing department at Tower Hill School from which she retired after over 20 years of service.

In retirement, Lolly re-visited the game of golf, something she hadn’t done since childhood and was very competitive in the Dupont Country Club Nine Hole Women’s league for several years.

She kept a part-time job at Curves for Women in Talleyville, a place where she made many new friends who provided much needed support as Salvatore and Thomas began to decline. Caring for both continued to be Lolly’s life strength until their passing earlier this year.

Lolly was predeceased by her husband of 60 years Salvatore J. Russo, her son Thomas J. Russo, and brothers Burton and Roscoe. She is survived by her son Mark Russo and his wife JoAnn of Beaumont, TX; daughter Amy Russo and her husband Tom Nourse of Fairplay, CO, and daughter Sally Russo Pollard and her husband Hawk Pollard of Greenville, DE; two grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

She was also survived by three sisters, Gigi Hollister and Terry Lehnen of Old Forge and Jean Yamane of Halfmoon Bay, CA; and three brothers, Lawrence Deis of Alfred, NY, Lloyd Deis of West Springfield, MA, and John William Deis of Herkimer. Her brother, Thomas Deis of Old Forge passed away July 29, 2014.

Thomas J. Russo, 55, of Wilmington, DE passed away peacefully at home on May 22, 2013, surrounded by his loving family.

Tommy graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School, utilizing one of the first special education programs offered by the Brandywine School District. He was employed by Service Source of Delaware where he worked for over 10 years in a happy, safe environment.

He enjoyed attending his sisters’ sporting events, traveling to visit grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in Old Forge and cheering and placing bets for his favorite football team, the Dallas Cowboys.

He was survived by his parents Salvatore and Lorene (Lolly) Russo of Wilmington, DE; brother and sister-in-law Mark and Joann Russo of Beaumont, TX; sister Amy Russo of Breckenridge, CO; and sister and brother-in-law Sally and Frederick Pollard of Greenville, DE.

Salvatore Russo, 83