Kristine Hanna Russi Obituary (1945

Kristine Hanna Russi Kris was born February 19th, 1945 in the small East German town of Altenburg where her Fathers family lived. Within three months her mother, Norah Speck, managed to leave that town with Krissy and her two year old sister, Sybille, one day before the Russians took over that part of Germany. Because she spoke fluent English, Kris' mom was able to secure a job with the American Armed Forces. Moving from Heidelberg and then to Hilpoltstein near Nrnberg and then moving on to Frth where Kris and her sister attended school. Kris was the Nrnberg city champion in several swimming events. She worked at the American PX while her mom was a secretary at the Nrnberg American High School. With all the many contacts there she enjoyed the 'American way of life.' In 1965 she married Nick Hallack and they had a beautiful daughter, Nicole. Divorced in 1968 Kris acquired her license in the clothing and fashion industry and worked for one of the finer houses in Nrnberg. In January of 1971 she went for a visit to Dallas, Texas where she met Jim. Jim knew a good thing when he first met her and asked for her hand in marriage. They were married on May 26th of that year and on the 27th moved to Phoenix, AZ where Jim was to take on a larger territory in the field he was in. In 1972 they had their beautiful daughter Tanya. When Tanya was only one month old Jim was transferred to Boise, ID. Going from 72 degrees to minus 25 was a bit of a strain on the family because the new house Jim had bought, without Kris seeing it first, had frozen pipes. They spent the first few nights in a hotel. Three years later they went off to Minneapolis, MN. On the way Kris had one child in her Toyota Corolla and was stuck in a cattle drive somewhere in Eastern Idaho while Jim and the other child drove behind her in a large U-Haul Van. A steer was licking the driver's side window which made for good fun in the vehicle behind. This is where she learned Jim liked to take short cuts. They lived in the twin cities for 7 years and then moved to Yakima in 1982 to take over the family business after Jim's dad became very ill. Kris ran Russi's Yarn and Needlecraft until the landlord needed more room and they closed the doors in the late 80's. After a few more part time jobs she took over the management of Piety Flats Winery in 2003 until it was closed in 2013 due to her illness. She was appreciated and adored by all her customers. As her friends soon found out, Kris spoke her own language. We called it germlish. If she was talking to you and she could not think of the English word she either dropped back with the German equivalent or just made up some word to fill in the gap. Kris did not start driving until she was 27 and her exploits to get a license in five different states are legendary. Her first try in Dallas went something like this: Officer: Ma'am I want you to bring the vehicle up to 30mph and I will have you do a quick stop. She got to 30mph and jammed on the brakes. The officer's head barely missed the windshield and he spilled his coffee. Officer: Ma'am that was a very good quick stop but next time I will tell you when to do that. She passed the test. Jim will be more than happy to share a few more similar stories with you. Kris was well known for her big heart and the many ways she cared for her friends and family. She was a woman of class, beauty and elegance and her presence radiated everywhere she went. She was truly loved by all and will be tremendously missed by those same people. Their marriage was official but was more than that. It was a 44 year love affair. She is survived by her husband Jim Russi, daughters Nicole Hallack (Portland, OR), Tanya Kristina Russi (Palm Harbor, FL) and her one very special granddaughter Jordin Kristine Roth (Portland, OR). In Germany: Sister Sybille Bauer, nephews Olav and Gunnar Bauer and grandniece Norah Kristine Bauer. Goodbye Schnookie. In lieu of flowers she would have appreciated your donation to: The American Leukemia Foundation c/o American Cancer Society or the favorite charity of the donor, c/o Brookside Funeral Home & Crematory, PO Box 1267, Moxee, WA 98936. A Celebration of Life will be held at their home for family and close friends.