Daughter of Schaumburg officer: 'He was my safety blanket'

Loved ones and colleagues on Friday recalled both the jovial spirit and professional dedication of Frank Russo, Schaumburg's first police officer to die in the line of duty.

Russo, 47, suffered a heart attack Halloween night while responding to a call of an unruly subject at a club who resisted officers during his arrest.

Friends, family and mournful peers from Schaumburg and numerous other law enforcement agencies filled half of the spacious St. Mary Catholic Church in Huntley Friday for Russo's funeral.

"We gather to remember a life well lived," Pastor Stephen Knox said. "Frank was a person of life. He was a big heart, a big laugh and full of compassion."

Mourners remembered a man who'd raised two children on his own after his first wife's death, was a father figure to his nephew and niece and was working extra hours for the care of his own ailing father when he died.

"My dad was the kindest person I ever had the opportunity to meet," Russo's tearful 15-year-old daughter Teresa said. "He put everyone before himself. He played the role of mom and dad after my mother passed, and he did it well. He was my wall of protection and my safety blanket. He will always live on in my heart and he will always be missed."

Russo's second wife, Jenny, also spoke of her loss. The two met when she was hired to help care for his children - his son Frank Jr. is now 17 - after their mother died. Jenny and Frank later fell in love and married.

"Frank has always been and will always be my hero," said the German-born Jenny, who lives in Lake in the Hills. "I miss you already."

Russo's niece Robin and nephew Gary remembered the man who'd stepped in to help raise them after their parents' divorce.

"He wasn't just an uncle. He was like a father figure to me," Robin Russo said. "He took me to my first day of kindergarten and wiped away my tears that day."

Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson recalled that when he moved to the village 40 years ago, he had three kids still young enough to be afraid of monsters. He allayed their fears by telling them the village had passed an ordinance banning monsters and that police would arrest any they saw.

"That's what Frank Russo was doing the night he died," Larson said. "He was keeping Schaumburg safe and secure."

Schaumburg Director of Police Richard Casler thanked Russo's family for sharing him with the department, adding that they would always be part of the department's family.

"He made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our community," Casler said. "Frank was a dedicated, hardworking police officer who loved his job."

After the funeral, bagpipers played "Amazing Grace" and "Taps" before a rifle team fired three shots to salute Russo. His widow was presented with the Schaumburg Police Department flag that had draped his casket before the hearse filed between two long rows of squad cars with their flashing lights activated.

"Anyone in police work knows the battle against evil," Knox said during the service. "For the Schaumburg Police Department, you've lost a brother, but know that he's still with you."

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