Obituary of Robert A. Russell

Robert (Bob) Russell passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his family on January 7, 2020. Bob is survived by his beloved wife Rosanna (née Algozzini), his devoted children Arden, Dianne, William (Billy) and Anna, his grandchildren, Shea, Luke, Owen, Griffin, Brendan, Claire, Jude and Gavin, his twin brother William (Billy), and predeceased by his siblings June, Eugene and John. Bob was born and raised in Astoria, N.Y. to his parents, Harold Russell (who died when he was three months old) and his mother, Anna Olson, and he later moved to Garden City, N.Y. He spent his career in the Kings County District Attorney's Office as Bureau Chief of the Grand Jury Reporters. One of Bob's siblings used to joke that his brother was the only guy he knew that could become a father, a grandfather, an uncle and a granduncle all in the same day. Well, that all came to pass within an eight week period of time in 1989. All those children were known as the "Babies of '89" and there was many a gathering in his home with the '89 babies. In his early retirement years, Bob was a stay at home dad and active grandfather all at the same time. He went on school trips, girl scout trips with his youngest daughter (of course being the only father on the trips), and would tell his grandchildren when they were at the beach together that if a pretty girl went by in a bikini to call him Uncle Bobby and not grandpa. He loved going to his grandchildren's sports events and won the hearts of the other children and parents that he met at those events. His wit and his charm overcame age, sex, race and religion. He was an avid reader of history books, the more pages and information the better, and loved to play golf (albeit not too well). His time spent on the golf course was more about laughing, socializing and just being with friends rather than about the game of golf, probably much to the chagrin of the other "real" golfers on the course. He was not a vain or material man but was the best of men in all that that was important to him as a husband, father, brother, boss, grandfather, friend and neighbor. He will be remembered for his generous smile, entertaining stories and his ability to make friends with all that he came in contact with. The Russell clan has lost its superhero but he will most definitely live on in all of us and all the many people that had the privilege of knowing him in their lives. In lieu of flowers, the family is accepting memorial donations for the Lung Cancer Research Foundation in honor of our loved one, Bob Russell, because too many families are affected by this devastating disease. Your donation helps fund life-changing lung cancer research and education programs focused on improving lung cancer outcomes. When someone faces a lung cancer diagnosis, they need all the support they can get. Thank you in advance for your support and generosity. Together we can make a difference for each and every person whose life has been touched by lung cancer. http://participate.lcrf.org/site/TR?px=1804266&fr_id=3941&pg=personal