Mario D. DiMarzo, 81 years, retired Brockton High School administrator, teacher and former football coach, a member of the Massachusetts Bar and Korean War veteran, died November 13, 2009, at his home in Brockton after a year long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Joan L. (Hillstrom) DiMarzo to whom he was married for 49 years, and his children, Lisa Danby of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Karen DiMarzo of Brockton, and Paul DiMarzo of Ann Arbor, Michigan, his son-in-law, Dr. Christopher Danby, daughter-in-law, Attorney Audrey (Price) DiMarzo, and his grandchildren, Christopher and Margaux Danby and Jack and Lauren DiMarzo. He is also survived by his brother Michael DiMarzo and wife Eileen of Dunedin Florida, his sister Mary DiMarzo of Bridgewater, and nieces Linda DiMarzo and Elizabeth Galvin of Florida.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Cappiello) DiMarzo. Mr. DiMarzo lived in Brockton all but the first few months of his life. He was a graduate of Brockton High School, where he captained the 1945 undefeated Brockton High Football team. He was elected to the Boston Globe All Scholastic Football team for three years and was an all scholastic in baseball in his senior year. He was inducted into Brockton High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Mario attended and captained the football team at Williston Academy in 1946. He received a football scholarship from and attended Fordham University, where he was a first team linebacker for three years and played for Vince Lombardi, the NFL Hall of Fame coach. He subsequently received offers to try out for the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants, which he declined.
He received his B.S. from Fordham University in 1951 and a Masters in Education from Bridgewater State College in 1958. He graduated from Suffolk University Law School and was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar Association in 1964. He also attended Bentley College and Boston College Graduate School of Education.
He was a veteran of the Korean War, having served in the US Army, stationed in Japan from 1954 to 1956.
Mario was a member of the Brockton High School faculty for thirty-three years from 1958 to 1991 and was a teacher and football coach at Abington High School from 1956 to 1958. He was associated with the Law Firm of Adams & Crosby from 1964 to 1991.
He served on the Board of Directors of Massasoit Community College and the Brockton YMCA and was a member of the Brockton Lyons Club, The Italian American Veterans, Brockton Sons of Italy, and The Brockton Education Association.
Funeral from the Conley Funeral Home, 138 Belmont Street (Rte 123) Brockton Wednesday at 9am. Funeral Mass in Our Lady of Lourdes Church at 10am. Burial in Calvary Cemetery. Visiting Hours will be held Monday 4-8pm and Tuesday 2-4 and 6-8pm. Donations in memory of Mario may be made to the Mario DiMarzo Brockton High School Scholarship Fund, c/o Webster Bank, 719 Belmont Street, Brockton, MA 02301.