Obituary of Mary Patricia Laurino (Morreale)

Mary Patricia (Morreale) Laurino, 90, of Saint Petersburg, Florida, passed away January 16, 2018 in Saint Pete. Born February 27, 1927 in East Rochester, New York, Mary was a graduate of East Rochester High School and Rochester Business Institute. She would go on to become the personal assistant to Xerox founder and inventor Chester Carlson, a position which would have her interact with leading business leaders and international dignitaries throughout the 1960s. In the 1970s, she served as executive assistant to both the director of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and the president of Rochester Institute of Technology, both located in Rochester, NY.

Mary was an avid lover of Italian opera; she also looked forward every year to a baking marathon of Italian Christmas cookies and desserts.  Mary was a lifelong devoted Catholic, and was initiated to the Third Order of Saint Francis (Secular Franciscan Order) in the 1980s. Along with her husband, Frank Laurino, Mary frequently gave her time and support to church organizations and events wherever she lived, including Atlanta, GA, Cape Cod, MA, York, ME, her hometown of East Rochester, and her final home in Saint Pete.

Mary was married to her husband, Frank, for 56 years, until his death in 2013. She was preceded in death by her parents, Phillip and Lillian Morreale; brothers Steven Arnone and Charles Morreale; sisters Josephine Marcucci, Emma Collins, and Molly Cascini; and nephew John Collins. Mary is survived by her sons, Frank and Joseph Laurino; grandson, Michael Laurino; nieces Bonnie Koerner, Karen Adams, Donna Peters, Stephanie Valenti, and Lillian Arnone; and nephews Steven Cascini and Phillip Morreale.

Services will be held on Saturday, January 20 at Saint Jerome’s Catholic Church, 207 Garfield Street, East Rochester, NY, at 12 noon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.