Wednesday, October 25, 2017
BOARDMAN
Lou Rossi has been a funeral director for almost as long as he was a city firefighter.
So when Rossi and his twin brother Joe had to prepare their former colleague Battalion Chief Ronald Russo for burial, it was not something that was normal.
Mourners filled the Rossi Bros. & Lellio Funeral Home on Wednesday for calling hours for Russo.
Lou Rossi said it was not easy to be handling the arrangements for Russo, who was a firefighter for 37 years before he was killed Friday in a motorcycle accident in Ashtabula County.
He said he and his brother are related to the Russos and have a lot in common, especially since Russo also has a twin brother – Richard Russo, who also retired as a city firefighter as did Joe and Lou Rossi.
Pausing to accept a hug from a mourner, Lou Rossi said the entire experience “stinks.”
“It’s like I’m burying my brother,” Rossi said. “It’s part of my extended family.”
Read more about the services in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.