John F. Russo, a longtime former state senator and Senate president, died Saturday night. He was 84.
Russo, a Democrat from Ocean County, died after a battle with esophageal cancer, his daughter, Caryl Lynn Russo told NJ Advance Media in a phone interview on Sunday.
"It was a courageous fight," she said, adding that he was diagnosed in late spring or early summer. "He did not suffer. We're just extremely grateful for that."
Caryl Russo said her father was a "devoted public leader" who ran the Senate in a "true bipartisan manner."
"Everything he did, he did with such zest," she said. "He didn't just go do something, he mastered it, he made it fun."
Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) lauded Russo as an "accomplished legislator" and a "strong leader" for New Jersey.
"He displayed a commitment to public service, to the needs of the people of New Jersey and to the effective work of the New Jersey Legislature," Sweeney said in a statement. "He was inclusive and always willing to work in bipartisan cooperation with members of both parties to make real progress."
Born in Asbury Park and later a resident of Toms River, Russo was first elected to the state senate in 1973 after he was an assistant prosecutor in Ocean County for nearly a decade.
Russo wrote the 1982 statute that reinstated the death penalty in New Jersey. His 77-year-old father was murdered in Asbury Park on New Year's Eve in 1970 during a robbery attempt.
He was the son of Italian immigrants and grew up dirt poor, Caryl Russo said. John Russo was the first in his family to attend college, going to Notre Dame University. He graduated in 1955, summa cum laude, and went on to earn a law degree from Columbia University.
His daughter said he had a way of making relationships with politicians on both sides of the political aisle in his 18 years as a state senator. He served as the senate president from 1986 to 1990 when Tom Kean, a Republican, was governor.
"They were very good friends," Caryl Russo said. "That never prevented him from building relationships and alliances with Republicans."
She said he was also close to then-Senate Majority Leader Donald DiFrancesco, also a Republican.
"They had no problem sitting down and hammering out legislation that made our state better," Caryl Russo said.
Outside of Trenton, Russo was an avid skier. His daughter said he met former U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg on a chair lift in Vail, Colorado, before Lautenberg got involved in politics.
The current Senate minority leader, Tom Kean Jr. (R-Union) said in a statement that John Russo was "a dedicated public servant, a loving father and a leader committed to improving New Jersey for all its residents."
Caryl Russo, who was active in her father's politics, would go on to marry Sen. Bob Singer (R-Ocean). Singer said Russo was an "outstanding legislature."
"I served with him as an assemblyman and from opponent to father-in-law in one gigantic leap," he said. "He was a close friend and I will dearly miss him."
Russo died surrounded by his wife, his children and grandchildren. His son, John Russo Jr., is a superior court judge in Ocean County and the former mayor of Toms River.
A viewing will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday at Anderson & Campbell funeral home, 703 Main Streets, Toms River. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, 685 Hooper Avenue, Toms River.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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