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January 25, 2020
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 from 4-8 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A 10:30 AM Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, January 30, 2020, at the funeral home.
Mario A. Gentile, age 95, of Pompton Plains and a former long-time resident of Wayne, passed away with loving family by his side, on Saturday, January 25, 2020.
Mario was the first born child of Italian immigrants, Thomas and Christine Gentile. He was born at home in 1924 in their second floor apartment above a grocery store owned by his father in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, Class of 1942
After what can be called a “spirited” childhood he would make some money by charging a few cents for rides in a horse drawn cart starting his path to entrepreneurship.
Mario met the love of his life, Marie Cannizzaro, along the bicycle trail that runs along Ocean Parkway. Mario and his cousins were “hanging out” on some benches just as Marie rode by on her bicycle with a friend and he was immediately smitten. He asked Marie out on a date and showed up with flowers in hand. Marie got cold feet and refused to answer the door. As she peeked out the window she saw Mario throw the flowers he had brought onto the ground and he left. Mario was persistent and they soon fell in love. Mario and Marie married on April 4, 1948 and had a Football Wedding reception for about 500 of their closest family and friends. A Football Wedding is where sub sandwiches were actually hurled across the room to the guests. They honeymooned in Niagara Falls, New York, and enjoyed a loving and devoted marriage of sixty-nine years before Marie’s passing in June of 2017.
His first real employment was for the Charlie Mills Electric Company in NYC. This eventually led to starting his own successful electrical contracting business MAGE ELECTRIC ( MArio GEntile) .He ran MAGE for 32 years before selling the business. Mario was very well regarded by his employees, building management companies, city inspectors, building owners, and superintendents. While in early retirement and due to his expertise and experience, he was hired as a consultant many times, before finally moving into full retirement in 1990.
When writing a story about Mario a few things need to be said. First of all, he was a true gentleman that was thoroughly devoted to his family and business. He loved playing cards, and never met a Craps table in Atlantic City or Las Vegas he didn’t like (as long as it was paying out).He was proficient at craps and you would frequently see him at the Borgata tables as recently as a few months ago. Mario was a “Crooner”, with a wonderful voice. While attending family weddings, talent shows, nursing homes, and karaoke nights, if there was music and a microphone he was in. He even booked some recording studio time to preserve his songs for generations to come. At the recording studio they nicknamed him “One Take Mario.”
Mario was the loving husband of sixty-nine years to Marie (d.6/2017); devoted father of Christine Doran and her husband James of Fort Mills, SC, Thomas Gentile and partner Olga Mehrhoff of Cheshire, CT, Mary Jane Threlfall and her husband Gary of Wayne, Ann Marie Simpson and her husband Don of Wayne, and Salvatore Gentile and his wife Arlene of Wayne; he was the cherished grandfather of Joy Marie, Alicia, Michael, Mario, Thomas, Tara, Danielle, Joseph, Matthew, Deandra, Andrea, and Alexa; he was also the dearly loved great-grandfather of Kyra, Julianna, Eleanor, Amelia, Bethany, Grace, Nathan, and Emma Jane.
In lieu of flowers donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 (stjude.org), or the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17 Chicago, IL 60601, (alz.org), would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 from 4-8 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A 10:30 AM Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, January 30, 2020, at the funeral home.
January 25, 2020
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 from 4-8 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A 10:30 AM Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, January 30, 2020, at the funeral home.
Mario A. Gentile, age 95, of Pompton Plains and a former long-time resident of Wayne, passed away with loving family by his side, on Saturday, January 25, 2020.
Mario was the first born child of Italian immigrants, Thomas and Christine Gentile. He was born at home in 1924 in their second floor apartment above a grocery store owned by his father in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, Class of 1942
After what can be called a “spirited” childhood he would make some money by charging a few cents for rides in a horse drawn cart starting his path to entrepreneurship.
Mario met the love of his life, Marie Cannizzaro, along the bicycle trail that runs along Ocean Parkway. Mario and his cousins were “hanging out” on some benches just as Marie rode by on her bicycle with a friend and he was immediately smitten. He asked Marie out on a date and showed up with flowers in hand. Marie got cold feet and refused to answer the door. As she peeked out the window she saw Mario throw the flowers he had brought onto the ground and he left. Mario was persistent and they soon fell in love. Mario and Marie married on April 4, 1948 and had a Football Wedding reception for about 500 of their closest family and friends. A Football Wedding is where sub sandwiches were actually hurled across the room to the guests. They honeymooned in Niagara Falls, New York, and enjoyed a loving and devoted marriage of sixty-nine years before Marie’s passing in June of 2017.
His first real employment was for the Charlie Mills Electric Company in NYC. This eventually led to starting his own successful electrical contracting business MAGE ELECTRIC ( MArio GEntile) .He ran MAGE for 32 years before selling the business. Mario was very well regarded by his employees, building management companies, city inspectors, building owners, and superintendents. While in early retirement and due to his expertise and experience, he was hired as a consultant many times, before finally moving into full retirement in 1990.
When writing a story about Mario a few things need to be said. First of all, he was a true gentleman that was thoroughly devoted to his family and business. He loved playing cards, and never met a Craps table in Atlantic City or Las Vegas he didn’t like (as long as it was paying out).He was proficient at craps and you would frequently see him at the Borgata tables as recently as a few months ago. Mario was a “Crooner”, with a wonderful voice. While attending family weddings, talent shows, nursing homes, and karaoke nights, if there was music and a microphone he was in. He even booked some recording studio time to preserve his songs for generations to come. At the recording studio they nicknamed him “One Take Mario.”
Mario was the loving husband of sixty-nine years to Marie (d.6/2017); devoted father of Christine Doran and her husband James of Fort Mills, SC, Thomas Gentile and partner Olga Mehrhoff of Cheshire, CT, Mary Jane Threlfall and her husband Gary of Wayne, Ann Marie Simpson and her husband Don of Wayne, and Salvatore Gentile and his wife Arlene of Wayne; he was the cherished grandfather of Joy Marie, Alicia, Michael, Mario, Thomas, Tara, Danielle, Joseph, Matthew, Deandra, Andrea, and Alexa; he was also the dearly loved great-grandfather of Kyra, Julianna, Eleanor, Amelia, Bethany, Grace, Nathan, and Emma Jane.
In lieu of flowers donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 (stjude.org), or the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17 Chicago, IL 60601, (alz.org), would be greatly appreciated.
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