Obituary of Rosario "Russ" P. Romanelli

Rosario “Russ” P. Romanelli passed away on August 21, 2019 at age 89, surrounded by loving family at his home in Lloyd Neck, New York. He was a great man.
Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1929 as the third son of immigrant parents, he was a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point where he was appointed battalion commander. He proudly served in the United States Navy and graduated from St. John’s Law School. He worked as a naval architect at Sparkman and Stephens prior to a distinguished career in telecommunications. He started at Western Union Telegraph, later, Western Union International, Inc., where he served as President, and thereafter, was the CEO of both Teleport Communications and WorldCom, and co-founder and President of Submarine Lightwave Cable. He had a lifelong love of music. As a young teen, he was employed during summers in bands at Catskills resorts, and, 75 years later, he played his final gig - for charity - with The Bob Morris Irish Band.
He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 57 years, Alice (Carberry), his parents Nicola and Angelica, and his brothers Otto and Marcello.
Russ is survived by a loving family of 5 children and their spouses (James, John, Stephen (and Carla), Anne (and Joseph Schmitz) and Christine (Leonard)), 13 grand-children, 8 great-grandchildren and his sister, Barbara.
He published a memoir in 2009, “The Third Son, Alice’s Husband”, the title of which beautifully reflected the humility, kindness and gratitude that was core to his character, as well as the unbounded love he had for his wife. In the book’s final pages, Russ wrote:
“Who am I? I can only define myself by referring to my existential relationships. I am a child of God, I am my mother and father’s third son, I am my siblings’ brother, I am Alice’s husband, I am my children’s father, my nephews’ and nieces’ uncle, my grand-children’s grandfather, and my great-grandchildren’s great-grandfather. I am the grateful friend for all those wonderful people whose warmth and loving friendship I’ve cherished in my youth, in my schooling, my long working career, and in the neighborhoods where I have lived. Without these relationships, I did not and do not exist. The more we grasp the enormity of these relationships, and the more we love them, the more we exist.”
Wake will be held Friday, August 23rd at M.A. Connell Funeral Home on 934 New York Avenue, on Friday, from 3 to 5pm and from 7 to 9pm with a funeral Mass at St. Patrick’s Church in Huntington at 9:15 am Saturday, August 24th, with interment at St. Patrick’s Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks you to consider a donation to the charity of your choice