Obituary of Audree Irene Russo

Audree Irene Russo was born on December 23, 1930 in Butte Montana to Emil and Rose Crnich. She passed into the loving arms of Jesus on Friday, March 15, 2019 in San Jose, CA. She was the 4th child of 5. Her siblings include Lorraine, Edward, Lawrence, and Bernard. She grew up in the Dublin Gulch area of Butte. Audree attended Catholic schools all of her life and graduated with honors from Girls Central in 1947. Shortly after graduation she came to California to work for Pacific Bell. Audree was a model with the John Robert Powers School of Modeling. She was always proud of the fact that she modeled Grace Kelly’s wedding gown on the runway. She was a true fashionista. She married Robert Russo on April 8, 1956 and settled in San Jose. They moved to San Martin where Robert was a schoolteacher. In the early 1960s, Audree and Robert ran a summer program for youth in San Martin where they were known to the children as Miss Audree and Mr. Bob. Together they raised five children; Rosemarie, Mike, Steve, Rochelle and Mark. The family moved to Pacific Grove in 1966. In addition to being a full time mother, Audree’s love of education led her to work at Pacific Grove High School as well as Monterey Peninsula College. Robert and Audree divorced in 1976 and remarried in 1980 when the family moved to Hollister. They lived apart but remained best of friends, even exchanging “I Love You’s” on her final day. Audree continued in the field of education at Gavilan Community College where she worked in the Police Academy and was an Administrative Assistant for over 20 years. She retired from Gavilan in 1995 and returned to work there another 7 years in the athletic and aviation department. Upon her second ‘retirement’ from Gavilan she worked at Hollister United Methodist Church for a few years and then at Hollister High School, and finally at Calaveras School in the Foster Grandparents program. Audree’s greatest pride and joy were her children and grandchildren. She never missed a sporting event or activity and was their biggest supporter. She also left a legacy of "Grandma's Workshop", for each holiday she had the grandchildren bake and do crafts to commemorate the holiday. She was an avid fan of the San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco Giants. Audree had a quick wit and loved doing crossword puzzles, word games and watching game shows.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her siblings. She is survived by her children; Rosemarie Russo, Monterey, Mike Russo, Santa Rosa, Steve Russo, Medford Oregon, Rochelle Skow (Jerry), Hollister and Mark Russo(Jenni), Seaside, CA. Her grandchildren; Jarrod Russo(Jennifer)Pacific Grove, Benjamin Russo (Amanda) Moab Utah, Steven Russo(Ashley)Rogue River, Oregon, Karisa and Kadi Skow, Karli Peret (Jake) all of Hollister, Joshua and Hannah Russo of Seaside, CA. and her great grandchildren; Greysen, Callie, Madalyn, Saffryn, Mathew, Mya, and Riley Russo and Kaylie Peret.

A mass of the resurrection will take place on Saturday, April 6, at 12 pm at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Tres Pinos. Donations in her memory may be made to a charity of your choice. After the mass the family would like to extend an invitation for guests to come to the Skow Ranch 3360 Cienega Road, Hollister, for a celebration of her life. Lavender was her favorite color; feel free to wear a lavender item to the service in her memory.