Support Carrie & Nicholas After Val's Passing

On September 22, Valentino “Val” Russo passed away after an aggressive battle with cancer. Val was a husband, father, son, brother, uncle, and friend. He leaves behind his wife, Carrie Russo, and their nine year old son, Nicholas Russo.

Val appreciated thought provoking conversations, quality food, and a good suit to wear, but mostly he loved spending time with his wife and son. Val loved his beautiful bride, Carrie, and the life they built together. He was a devoted, supportive, hardworking, and loving husband. Val could always find a way to humor Carrie with his witty personality. Carrie and Val shared twelve short, yet memorable years of marriage together (a few weeks shy of celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary). Neither preparing for this immense loss.

Val was such a proud, present father to Nicholas. He loved watching his son grow in confidence over the years and coming alive on the soccer field. He was one of Nicholas’ biggest fans. Nicholas looked up to his dad so much!

Val’s presence in their lives will be greatly missed on so many levels and in all seasons of life. Their lives will never be the same without him in it.

Their worlds were flipped upside down so quickly six weeks ago when Val received his diagnosis. In those brief and painful six weeks, Val was in and out of the ICU. Carrie took on the role of sole caretaker, provider working full time (recently taking FMLA allowing her to be present for Nicholas and Val), and managed their home and finances and everything else in between in what seemed like overnight!

She has carried the weight on her shoulders and has worn and juggled so many hats. It is all too heavy to carry alone. She needs her village to step up, and this is where we come into play to help…to come beside her to lift the weight together when she doesn’t have the strength to hold it.

Val was taken from Carrie and Nicholas far too soon, and as they begin to process their grief, she shouldn’t have to be weighed down by thoughts of their financial future.

On behalf of Carrie & Nicholas, thank you to all who have reached out not only with kind, thoughtful words & prayers, but also to offer help practically! While we can’t heal the emotional wounds and heartache they are experiencing, we can certainly ease the financial burden. We are reaching out amidst tragedy to ask for your support for Carrie & Nicholas.

We have set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds that will go directly to Carrie as she and Nicholas transition to life without Val. These funds will help cover medical bills, end of life expenses, as well as living expenses.

Together, our generosity can alleviate some of Carrie’s immediate financial worries, lifting a weight off her shoulders while she courageously processes this emotional and tragic loss for herself while also helping their son to do the same.

Thank you for reading, donating, and sharing this post!