Mr. Marino taught us so much more than Latin conjugations and declensions. He taught us about life. His sensitivity toward his students was remarkable. A personal memory of that sensitivity...I always, by choice, sat in the front of the classroom, right in front of his desk. I didn't want to miss anything. Well, we were in the final week or so of KING & I rehearsals, and I was dead tired, depressed, and suffering from strep throat. I remember putting my head down on my desk, and the next thing I knew the bell was ringing and class was over. I HAD SLEPT THROUGH THE ENTIRE CLASS, and Mr. Marino hadn't said a word. When I apologized, he gently explained that I needed the sleep more than translating Latin. What a guy! Sadly missed!
I regret that Peter Marino has died. For years I tried to find him, to thank him for the wonderful foundation he gave me in Latin, Greek, Italian and in language study in general. Lamentably, I was never able to find him nor obtain any information of him beyond what I had learned of him from (Mrs.) JeanAnne Wirth.
In order to give him due credit and honor, Peter Marino was born of an immigrant Sicilian family, and he was raised in Milwaukee. What I do remember of his own recounting is that he had been a student at the Gregorianum, the prestigious Jesuit university in Rome where only the best of Jesuit scholastics were sent for advanced study. Although he never completed his studies for ordination, his long stay in Rome for several years also presented an opportunity for him to perfect his Italian, which was impeccable. Perhaps some of you remeber him organizing a group of Latin and other students to sing Italian Christmas carols which we presented in various classes during that season.
I am also particularly thankful for his offer to teach Classical Greek after school to a small group of us who were interested in Greek. Not only did it slake the thirst I had for this language, but it also presented an incredibly valuable base for me to learn Modern Greek, which I did whle I was a senior--mainly due to Tom Galaris who was a very close friend of mine at Custer, and whose family spoke only Greek at home. That's it...no more was ever heard of him.
Often during my Russian studies, when I was learning to deal with not the five cases of Latin nor the four cases of classical Greek, but the six cases of Russian nouns, I thought of Mr. Marino and the excellent preparation he had given me. Until this day, there is scarcely a week that passes when I don't read something in Latin; and my library contains not only Latin grammars and dictionaries, but literature of antiquity and the Medieval period in Latin. Of course these moments stimulate tender recollection and appreciation of him.
What is curious to me is that he never thought of encouraging me to study language, even though he must have been aware of my aptitude and voracious appetite for it. So I began college as a pre-med, since I was equally skilled in science and math. Not until my sophomore year did I dump the pre-med curriculum and declare a major in Russian. I guess that's how we live and learn. So to Mr. Marino, it is fitting to offer: Gratias tibi offerimus pro omnibus quae dedisti nos.
Bill, you have echoed some of the comments about Mr. Marino which I wrote earlier (and elsewhere - as yet unaware of this part of the site), although in more detail and elegance. No teacher before, nor since, impressed or moved me more. I, too, think of him often, most gratefully when attending a concert of early music. How I wish he could have had a chance to hear our daughter sing! How excited and proud he would have been to hear of your studies, and the work you do now! He always encouraged us to be our best selves and to strive for the true, and I think that he believed we were capable of doing so.
Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)
Mr. Marino taught us so much more than Latin conjugations and declensions. He taught us about life. His sensitivity toward his students was remarkable. A personal memory of that sensitivity...I always, by choice, sat in the front of the classroom, right in front of his desk. I didn't want to miss anything. Well, we were in the final week or so of KING & I rehearsals, and I was dead tired, depressed, and suffering from strep throat. I remember putting my head down on my desk, and the next thing I knew the bell was ringing and class was over. I HAD SLEPT THROUGH THE ENTIRE CLASS, and Mr. Marino hadn't said a word. When I apologized, he gently explained that I needed the sleep more than translating Latin. What a guy! Sadly missed!
William Bertolas
I regret that Peter Marino has died. For years I tried to find him, to thank him for the wonderful foundation he gave me in Latin, Greek, Italian and in language study in general. Lamentably, I was never able to find him nor obtain any information of him beyond what I had learned of him from (Mrs.) JeanAnne Wirth.
In order to give him due credit and honor, Peter Marino was born of an immigrant Sicilian family, and he was raised in Milwaukee. What I do remember of his own recounting is that he had been a student at the Gregorianum, the prestigious Jesuit university in Rome where only the best of Jesuit scholastics were sent for advanced study. Although he never completed his studies for ordination, his long stay in Rome for several years also presented an opportunity for him to perfect his Italian, which was impeccable. Perhaps some of you remeber him organizing a group of Latin and other students to sing Italian Christmas carols which we presented in various classes during that season.
I am also particularly thankful for his offer to teach Classical Greek after school to a small group of us who were interested in Greek. Not only did it slake the thirst I had for this language, but it also presented an incredibly valuable base for me to learn Modern Greek, which I did whle I was a senior--mainly due to Tom Galaris who was a very close friend of mine at Custer, and whose family spoke only Greek at home. That's it...no more was ever heard of him.
Often during my Russian studies, when I was learning to deal with not the five cases of Latin nor the four cases of classical Greek, but the six cases of Russian nouns, I thought of Mr. Marino and the excellent preparation he had given me. Until this day, there is scarcely a week that passes when I don't read something in Latin; and my library contains not only Latin grammars and dictionaries, but literature of antiquity and the Medieval period in Latin. Of course these moments stimulate tender recollection and appreciation of him.
What is curious to me is that he never thought of encouraging me to study language, even though he must have been aware of my aptitude and voracious appetite for it. So I began college as a pre-med, since I was equally skilled in science and math. Not until my sophomore year did I dump the pre-med curriculum and declare a major in Russian. I guess that's how we live and learn. So to Mr. Marino, it is fitting to offer: Gratias tibi offerimus pro omnibus quae dedisti nos.
Bill Bertolas
Nancy Davison (Boerger)
Bill, you have echoed some of the comments about Mr. Marino which I wrote earlier (and elsewhere - as yet unaware of this part of the site), although in more detail and elegance. No teacher before, nor since, impressed or moved me more. I, too, think of him often, most gratefully when attending a concert of early music. How I wish he could have had a chance to hear our daughter sing! How excited and proud he would have been to hear of your studies, and the work you do now! He always encouraged us to be our best selves and to strive for the true, and I think that he believed we were capable of doing so.