Dr. Rosemarie Catherine Russo

Dr. Rosemarie C. Russo, age 76, passed away unexpectedly on Friday May 3, 2019 at her home in Bogart, Georgia.  Born in Eveleth, Minnesota on December 7, 1942, she was the beloved daughter of the late John and Mary (Bozich) Russo.  She spent her early life in Keewatin, Minnesota where she graduated Valedictorian of her senior class and is a member of the Keewatin High School Hall of Fame.  She was an accomplished pianist and played no less than five instruments.  She was frequently sought out to play the piano at private and public events and was the organist at her church.  She continued her education at the University of Minnesota-Duluth where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Inorganic Chemistry with minors in Music, Psychology and General Science.  Post graduation she was an Instructor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota-Duluth for several years before becoming an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and also at Dickinson College in Carlyle, Pennsylvania.  Thereafter she pursued her graduate studies and received her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire.  Dr. Russo then relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado where she was a senior research chemist at Colorado State University.  She moved to Bozeman, Montana to become an Adjunct Professor and Associate Director at the Fisheries Bioassay Laboratory, Department of Chemistry at Montana State University. She ultimately left Montana State University to become a Research Chemist at the Environmental Research Laboratory for the United States Environmental Protection Agency in Duluth, Minnesota where she ultimately became the Associate Director for Research Operations.  She subsequently relocated again to Athens, Georgia where she was promoted to Director of the Ecosytems Research Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory for the U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency.  Dr. Russo was also the Associate Director for International Affairs, International Center for Research on Public Health and the Environment at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia.  After retiring from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency she was a Training Coordinator for the International QSAR Foundation, Athens, Georgia.  She was a member of numerous professional societies and academies and an author, co-author and commentator of many professional books, papers and periodicals.  Dr. Russo was the recipient of many awards and distinctions too numerous to mention throughout her distinguished career.  She was a world traveler and international consultant.  She was an advocate of the environment and science in general.  She is survived by her brother Louis (Marjorie) Russo and brother F. William (Peggy) Russo and her beloved niece Jeanne Russo and her beloved nephew John W. Russo and her beloved niece Dr. Christine Russo-Hawley (Alex) and her newly born grand nephew William Wyatt Hawley and her many other relatives, friends and professional colleagues.  Funeral services will be held at U.G.A. Catholic Center, 1344 South Lumpkin Street, Athens, GA on Saturday May 11, 2019.  Visitation will commence at 9:30 a.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial to follow at 11:00 a.m.   Rosemarie will be laid to rest alongside her beloved parents John and Mary Russo in Gilbert, Minnesota in a subsequent Internment Service.  In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Mary Russo Memorial Fund at St. Paul and Minnesota Foundations, 101 Fifth Street East, Suite 2400, St. Paul, MN 55101-1800  or to a charity of your choice.