Pamela Russell-Fratianno Remembered

My sweet friend Pam was my cheerleader. She always tried to cheer me up when I was down, even when she was down on herself. I met her when I worked at Mikohn around 1998, and the first time I saw her I thought, wow, this girl’s got some really bright RED hair! We started chit-chatting, and soon found out we had a lot in common and became friends. Years went by and we lost touch, but then last year we started to hang out again, and we just picked up were we left off.  Boy, she could really talk your ear off! LOL! But I enjoyed every minute of it!

Pam loved Halloween!! I mean LOVED HALLOWEEN! I enjoyed going to her Halloween Parties and seeing what kind of character she would turn into...a Sparta Cheerleader, a Gargoyle, The Queen of Hearts. She was always the life of the party.

Pam would get excited about the smallest things, like a song. We were listening to a song from the Red Hot Chili Peppers years ago and the last lyric Anthony Kiedes sang was “Can’t stop the spirits when they need you, this life is more than just a read thru”..which gave her goose bumps every time! She was say “O my gosh..Look! I got goose bumps!” I remember just last month we went on a drive to clear our heads, and were listening to the song 10:15 Saturday Night by the Cure in my car…and she said “Crank it up!” So I did, and we danced and sang it driving along.

One day I went to the craft store and I meet her there with Kayla, (her son Dylan’s girlfriend a the time) and she would start getting excited about the fabrics, the beads, craft books, and the decorations there. Pam’s energy would in turn get us all excited about what we could make, and we just had a lot of fun hanging out. I remember her looking at this stain glass butterfly at the store which had her favorite colors:  Purple and Chartreuse, and I wanted to buy it for her, but I couldn’t. And she decided she didn’t need it anyway…The craft store was her escape. One day Pam told me that little Tony thought she said crap store…and we laughed, and from then on she would say: “Wanna go to the crap store?” LOL! – I actually got a text message from her on the 14^th of January asking me that…but we didn’t end up going for some reason…and I wish we had.

Besides getting excited about the crap store, she’d get excited about food. She made some really good fried shoe string onion rings from the Pioneer Woman Cook Book. One night we both decided to can some green beans. We would dance in the kitchen..doing our cheer.. “Ready..Ok! We got the spirit! We got what what what what?..” and do that silly dance we learned in our high school days. Dylan would look at us and smile saying “you guys are weird.” And we would all laugh! I didn’t get to her house until 9pm that day…and didn’t leave there until about 2am. But it was worth it, and those green beans sure turned out good!     

Pam had such a big heart, and did what should could to help others. Around Christmas time she told Little Tony’s art teacher she would help her paint the details on the kids ceramic ornaments, but she soon realized she couldn’t do it all herself. She needed my help, so I was there along with Big Tony, Little Tony, Dylan, Kayla and Kayla’s mom. I was so tired by the time Kayla’s mom got there, I just had to leave and get some sleep. But I helped as much as I could. And she loved this crazy smiling faced snowman I did. She loved snowman. :o)

Pam just had so much going on, and wanted to do it all. From helping her elderly mom, her family, friends and just struggling in this economy…it got overwhelming for her. But I know she is stress-free, the pain is gone, and she’s at peace now. I will cherish every little moment I spent with her and will always keep her close to my heart.

Slide Show in Loving Memory of Pamela Russell-Fratianno:

Poem in Remembrance of Pam:

Song Lyrics:


10:15 Saturday Night

10:15
saturday night
and the tap drips
under the strip light
and i'm sitting
in the kitchen sink
and the tap drips
drip drip drip drip drip drip drip...

waiting
for the telephone to ring
and i'm wondering
where she's been
and i'm crying for yesterday
and the tap drips
drip drip drip drip drip drip drip...

Robert Smith - The Cure - 10.15 Saturday Night

My Friends

My friends are so depressed
I feel the question of your loneliness
Confide...'cause I'll be on your side
You know I will, you know I will

My friends are so distressed
And standing on the brink of emptiness
No words I know of to express
This emptiness

I love all of you
Hurt by the cold
So hard and lonely too
When you don't know yourself

Imagine me, taught by tragedy
Release is peace

I heard a little girl
And what she said was something beautiful
To give your love no matter what
Is what she said

I love all of you
Hurt by the cold
So hard and lonely too
When you don't know yourself

Anthony Kiedes ~ Red Hot Chili Peppers - My Friends