James Dominick Russo of North Truro died at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis on March 4, 2023. He was 95.
The son of Thomas and Rose (Cundari) Russo, Jim was born on July 29, 1927 in Kearny, N.J., where he grew up.
As a student at Kearny High School, Jim was an all-star in basketball and baseball. He was so good that he was invited to try out for the Brooklyn Dodgers on June 9, 1945. Jim’s family has the letter he received two weeks later inviting him back because “we saw your baseball ability on Ebbetts Field.”
Rather than returning for a second tryout, which would most likely have led to his being drafted by the Dodgers, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and prepared to be in the Expeditionary Force set to invade the Japanese main islands.
The war ended before that invasion could happen, and Jim ended up being assigned to Roosevelt Island in New York City, where he guarded German prisoners of war. According to his son Gregg, Jim was stabbed by a prisoner and lightly wounded. He kept the knife as a keepsake.
After the war, Jim studied business and marketing at Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City, where he also played basketball. He graduated in 1950, and on June 24 of that year he married Dorothy E. Peet. They had four children over 10 years before divorcing in 1975. He was then married to Margaret A. Rabinowitz until her death in 2020.
All his professional life, Jim was involved in the aerosol business, specializing in perfumes. He began his career at Allied Chemical and was employed by several aerosol packaging companies.
He co-owned and operated Responsive Packaging in Westerly, R.I., fulfilling contracts for perfumers such as Coty and Christian Dior and employing over 100 people at his plant. After his retirement and until age 80, Jim served as an independent consultant to the perfume industry.
Jim and Margaret lived in Chatham before retiring to Naples, Fla., where they lived for 20 years. After she died, Jim moved to North Truro, where he lived with his sons and two sons-in-law until his death.
He is survived by his son Ken Russo and husband Michael MacIntyre and his son Gregg Russo and husband Scott Russo, all of North Truro; and by his daughter, Diane Russo of Centerville.
Jim was predeceased by his wife of 45 years, Margaret, and by his youngest son, James, in 1987.
The family of his sister Rose in New Jersey also survives him: his great-nephew Ron Carlson, wife Mary, and their family; his great-niece Linda Jennings and her family; and his great-niece Jeanine Driscoll and her family.
In Colorado, the family of his brother Anthony survives him: his niece Audrey Blair, husband Lou, and their family; in Pennsylvania, his nephew Tom Russo, wife Carol, and their family; in North Carolina, his great-niece Claire Mayone, husband Greg, and her family.
A private graveside service will be held on June 24, 2023 at the family plot in the Provincetown Cemetery.
Donations in Jim’s name can be made to the Cape Head Injured Persons (CHIPs) House at 9 Park Ave. in Centerville 02633, where his daughter, Diane, has been a resident for nearly 27 years.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this obituary, published in print on March 23, displayed a photograph of Gregg Russo, James Russo’s son. Gregg is very much alive.
