Honoring Bernadette Russella: A Special Trip to Celebrate Her Legacy

The family of Bernadette LeVasseur Russella
Bernadette LeVasseur was an O’Hara classmate to several of our board members, including Billy Keane himself. She graduated from O’Hara in 1984. Bernadette passed away this past Spring at age 43, after a 3-year battle with breast cancer. She was married to Joe Russella and has two beautiful girls, Elizabeth and Christine, who attend St. Francis School.

The Russellas had always talked about taking a trip to see Niagara Falls, so the BKF made this happen for them! Over Labor Day weekend, Joe took Elizabeth and Christine to Niagara Falls for a vacation to remember their mom’s adventurous spirit. The BKF covered the expenses for this trip. In addition, donations were made to the girls’ education funds.

But this is not the end of the gift-giving in this story. When Joe talked to the girls about the BKF and told them that we wanted to do something special for them, they responded with a special request. The girls asked for a large portion of their gift to be given to another family that it might truly help. In the name of the Russella girls, an extra donation was made to the Paoletti family to help cover the cost of outstanding bills. God bless you, girls!