Clara M. Russo

February 21, 2023. Clara is predeceased by her husband Bruno Russo. She is survived by her daughters, Mary (Joseph) Russo-Santacroce & Caroline Race; grandchildren, Joseph S. Santacroce, Robert Santacroce, Richard Race, Steven Race, & Timothy Race; many dear relatives & friends.

Clara's Funeral Mass will be celebrated, Saturday, Feb. 25th, at 11 AM at Our Mother of Sorrows Church, 5000 Mt. Read Blvd., immediately following, she will be laid to rest in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

*In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Istituto Antoniano Maschile, www.rogazionistinapoli.it/donate/ in Clara's memory.

The Life Story of Clara M. Russo

Clara was an individual with high ethics and moral standards. She was compassionate yet sturdy and direct in her communication and position taken. Clara was a devout Catholic and loved Santa Rita, Sant Antonio, San Francesco and la Madonna di Fatima. Clara had five grandchildren which she deeply loved and helped in their care.

Clara was born on July 19, 1932, in Formia, a city in Italy, province of Latina, on the Mediterranean coast of Lazio. She was born on the same day and month as her mother.
When Clara was 2 years old, her older sister, Francesca, passed away at the age of 12, and Clara never forgot her and passed her name on to her older daughter.

At the age of 11, Clara faced WWII as the city of Formia, Lazio which was a strategic position tenaciously held by the German army and conquered by the Allies on May 19, 1944. During this time, her home was bombarded, and her family went into hiding under a church which was subsequently bombarded, leaving her family to go into hiding in mountains for 9 months without certainty of basic necessities, such as food, clothing, and heat.

When Clara was 24, she migrated from Italy to the United States under an American program that allowed individuals with a certain craft and a sponsor to relocate to the United States. At that time, Clara started her sewing career at Hickey Freeman. Clara married her loving husband Bruno on November 29th,1956, and started their life together by tenaciously building the American Dream. Clara became an American citizen in 1962. Clara and Bruno had two children and five grandchildren who they loved and supported throughout their lives.

Clara's parents were Romeo and Vincenza Capodiferro. Romeo was a woodworker and Vincenza was a homemaker. They had six children, three girls, and three boys. The first child was Francesca who took care of Clara until she died at the age of 12. The second child was Nino who worked for a pharmacy and helped his family. The third child was Iole who became a homemaker and a loving mother. The fourth child was Francesco who became a construction worker and a loving father. The fifth child was Clara who came to America. The sixth child was Ettore who became the owner of two grocery stores.

Clara loved her pets and took great care of them, Maxine, Maxine II, Rhodey, Diesel, and Junior. Clara attended school in Formia and received formal training as a seamstress. After migrating to America, Clara worked as a seamstress at Hickey Freeman sewing suites for US Presidents and dignitaries around the world. Clara's favorite hobbies were shopping, she loved to cook, and loved to take care of her family. Clara met Bruno in Italy while going back to see her family. They married in 1956 and had two children, Maria Franca and Caroline. Family life consisted of working during the week and relaxing while running errands on weekends such as dental appointments, piano lessons, grocery shopping, clothes shopping, and eating lunch out. The family temporarily moved back to Italy in 1971 and moved back to the US in 1973. Post 1973, the family vacationed in Italy two times. There were a few close friends, Miss Elsa, Sara, Angela, Nino, Luisa, Monfredo, Gina, Bruno and a couple of others. They would get together, drink espresso, eat cookies and discuss recent events and family updates. Their favorite saying was: "Chi va piano va lontano" which means: "Who goes slow goes far". They enjoyed watching Lawrence Welk, Sanremo Music Festival and Italian movies. The most important element to them was the stability of American life and taking care of their family. While the challenges to them were adaptation of American culture learning the American language as adults, their biggest challenge was when Bruno unexpectedly had a stroke at the age of 59. Zia Nannina and Miss Elsa had the biggest impact on their lives as they helped with the migration protocol to the United States. Clara was kind, gentle, loving, outspoken, and sturdy.
Clara and Bruno's legacy remains to make a better life in America for their family and live the American Dream.

Clara is now with her family in heaven and in peace surrounded by her loving family in heaven and on earth.