As an entrepreneur and a father, John J. Marino approached every experience with enthusiasm and passion, whether describing a new business idea or reveling in his elder children's accomplishments in business and his younger children's prowess on the ski slopes, soccer fields or basketball courts. Mr. Marino, a former state official who served as the Commissioner of Commerce and Development in the first Dukakis administration, died suddenly Thursday morning, June 14th, after suffering a heart attack at his home in Winchester, Massachusetts. He was 68.
Mr. Marino founded and managed more than a dozen successful companies during the past 40 years, including three firms involved in various aspects of foreign exchange, equities and fixed-income trading. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Softek Partners, Inc., a company he co-founded with Alen Shapiro of Brooklyn, a consulting and system integration company, chairman of Tradeware Global, a provider of electronic trading solutions, chairman and president of Integrated Systems and Services, Inc., a provider of electrical services, and chairman of Xenith, Inc., a company focused on new technology in sports helmets. Mr. Marino was also assisting several young entrepreneurs with new business launches.
Among his career highlights, Mr. Marino invented, developed and patented Moist Mates, America's first moist bath tissue on a roll, a business which he sold to Proctor & Gamble Company in 2001. From 1975 to 1978, Mr. Marino served as Commissioner of Commerce and Development for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, serving as chairman of both the Massachusetts Industrial Finance Authority and the Governor's Task Force on Capital Formation. He also taught entrepreneurship classes at Boston College, Harvard Extension School and the University of Vermont.
Mr. Marino was an avid athlete, and a lifelong tennis player. He was one of the founding investors of the Longfellow Racquet Club in Sudbury, one of the first indoor tennis facilities in Massachusetts. In the 1970s, he was the chairman of tennis at Brae Burn Country Club, and hired its first tennis pro. Mr. Marino also started a children's day camp there for aspiring tennis players.
Mr. Marino was born in West New York, NJ. He received a master's degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He attended the University of Vermont on a football scholarship, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering there. He was a proud member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Mr. Marino began his entrepreneurial career while a student at UVM with a lucrative late-night, dorm-delivered submarine sandwich business.
Mr. Marino began his career in 1960 as an engineering instructor for General Electric in Pittsfield, where he was taught the US Navy on the Polaris Missile System. He then worked as a research engineer at MIT. In the mid-1960s he founded Memory Technology of Sudbury, taking the company from start-up to more than 300 employees.
Mr. Marino was married to Sharon F. Merrill, chairman and CEO of the Boston investor relations consulting firm Sharon Merrill Associates, Inc. In addition to his wife, he leaves three daughters - Kerry Smithers, [44], Stacey, [42] and Julia, [15]; one son, Mark, [14]; and four brothers - Philip of Paramus, New Jersey; Vincent of Lavallette, New Jersey, Anthony of Gainesville, Georgia, and Francis, of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Funeral services from the Costello Funeral Home, 177 Washington St. Winchester on Tues., June 19th at 9AM followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Mary's Church Winchester at 10AM. Relatives and friends respectfully invited. Visiting hours will be held Mon. 2-4 & 6-9PM. Interment Wildwood Cemetery, Winchester. Costello Funeral Home, 177 Washington Street, Winchester, MA 01890. 781-729-1730. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Marino's memory may be sent to Food for the Poor, Inc., 6401 Lyons Road, Dept. 9662, Coconut Creek, Florida, 33073.