Ronald R. Russo, who was principal of Saint Mark’s High School from 1977-95, died Dec. 16. He was 79.
Russo was a New Jersey native who attended St. Joseph’s University and the University of Delaware, where he received an MBA. He was a math and physics teacher at St. Elizabeth High School and also served as the dean of students in 1968-69.
In 1969, he moved to Saint Mark’s High School, which was opened by the Diocese of Wilmington that fall. He served as assistant principal until 1977, when he became principal. He remained in that position until 1995. That year, he left to become the founding president of the Charter School of Wilmington until 2009.
He was the charter school representative for the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens from 2000-15, and he joined the Caesar Rodney Institute in 2014 as a senior fellow, according to his LinkedIn profile. During his career, he also served on the diocesan Catholic Board of Education, the Delaware Secondary Schools Athletic Association, the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges and other organizations.
“I had a great run,” he wrote in his own obituary, “and learned that friends are better than possessions and that your most precious possession is time. You only get one shot at life, so don’t hold back.”
According to his website, Russo was the former president of the parish council at Corpus Christi Parish in Elsmere. He also served as a member of the board of adjustment for the town of Elsmere, and in 1992, he ran for the Delaware state senate.
He is survived by his former wife, Kathleen; daughters Maria Fiscella (David) and Kathleen Bonis (Brian), both of Delaware, and Nichole Finneran (David) of Florida; and six grandchildren. He was predeceased by an infant son, Ronald R. Jr.
Visitation will be held on Jan. 2 from 10 a.m.-noon at St. John the Beloved Church, 907 Milltown Road, Wilmington, with Mass of Christian Burial at noon. Burial will be private.
Russo noted in his obituary that he did not make the funeral arrangements, “but I will be in attendance at all of them.”
“I look forward to seeing you one last time,” he wrote. “I intend to send thank you notes to all who attend any of these services. If I don’t get around to it, I’m sure you’ll understand.”
