The news that Russo’s market will be closing hit many people hard, and sparked plenty of memories. None more so, perhaps, than for a pair of daughters of a man who worked at the Watertown institution for just short of half a century. Susan Amatangelo and Anne Korte shared just a handful of memories of their father Phil Amatangelo with Watertown News.

The Italian immigrant settled in Watertown and his ties to the Russo family go way back, Susan said. “My father started working at Russo’s when I was 5 years old; I don’t think there is any employee (other than Tony) that has worked there longer,” she wrote. Labor Day 2021 would have marked his 50th anniversary of Phil working at Russo’s, unfortunately he could not celebrate that milestone.