Marino E. DeMeo

Marino Edward DeMeo, was born September 24 1941, to his mother Marian (Marianna) and father Louis DeMeo in Chicago. In the Italian tradition, Marino spent his youth in the Taylor Street neighborhood attending Holy Family and St. Ignatius. He was always surrounded by an adoring extended family. He spoke exclusively with fondness when remembering his childhood and remained fiercely close with many friends from the neighborhood. Often he would reminisce, “We didn’t have a lot, but we were well-fed and well-loved.”

In 1957, his family reluctantly left their beloved neighborhood behind for a house in the suburbs. But this difficult transition led to a chance meeting between Marino and his would-be-wife at Maine East Township high school. As a teenager, Marino developed a well-trained penchant for mischief, which prompted frequent visits to the principal’s office. One such occasion afforded him the chance to talk up a pretty German girl named Heidi, new to America, and fortunately for Marino, vulnerable to Italian charms. They never parted from that day forward.

After graduating high school, Marino joined the army. He and Heidi married in Chicago soon after. He was then stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, where Heidi followed. It was there his first daughter, Christina, was born.

Marino was poised to serve his country dutifully in the Bay of Pigs crisis. He fulfilled his commitments and was honorably discharged in 1962, subsequently moving home to Chicago. He didn’t know it at the time, but he’d be vastly outnumbered by the women of his family for the rest of his life. God had a sense of humor and brought Marino 2 more daughters, Marianna and Heidi.

He worked many jobs in those early years and was a faithful provider for his young family. One of those was helping his father run the DeMeo Tavern on Wells St, in Chicago. Once he found his niche in the wine industry, he never wavered from what would be a lifelong passion and successful career. There was no grape Marino did not know by name and note.

For Marino, every meal flanked by a loving family was reason enough to raise a glass. He figured himself the richest man on earth, and often said so, from the head of the dinner table, rejoicing in the busy chatter of his children Christina (Mike), Marianna and Heidi. His grandchildren Nick (Jodi),  Tera (Chris),  Alex (Allie), Isabella(Mike), Gina (Michael), Jimmy, Lucia and eventually 7 great grandchildren Heidi, Gannon, Francesca, Luca, Charlotte, Giovanni and Michael James. They were his “babies” and he was their “Papa.”

The color went out of Marino’s world the day his wife Heidi died, succumbing to a hard-fought battle with cancer. The family was permanently shaken, but with Papa’s love, found its new normal.

An inspired troubadour and raconteur, Marino regaled his loved ones with songs, stories, and deep knowledge of world history. His years in the wine industry and European wife made him a voracious traveler. Together, he and Heidi saw the world many times over.

He never lost his nose for mischief, often doling out 2 dollar bills accompanied by a clever quip, which came to be known as “Papa-isms.”

Marino was cut from a rare cloth long extinct and unlikely to be seen again. He loved without motive. He celebrated without cause. He forgave without reproach. A hug from Marino was like coming in from the cold. His family struggles to conceive of a world without him. But are grateful for so many years in the light of his love. May he rest in peace.

He is survived by his daughters, nieces, nephews, cousins and too many friends to count, as well as his sister Angela Crovetti. In addition to his wife, he was predeceased by his parents, brothers Anthony and Joseph, and sister Marie.