Marco Ciavolino

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Marco Ciavolino, at age 66 on August 12, 2023. He is survived by his devoted wife of 35 years, Susan Cody Ciavolino, who stood by his side through every chapter of their journey together, including helping him in his tough battle with a glioblastoma tumor, a rare type of brain cancer. He leaves behind a legacy of family and love, survived by his four children, Liz and her husband Chris, Amy, Emily, and Jon and his fiancée Natalie, and his two sisters Laura Hart and Gina Moss, as well as his dog Hemingway and his cat Mr. Darcy.

Born in New York City at Mount Sinai Hospital to his parents Micheal D. Ciavolino and Susan Schwartz Ciavolino, he brought joy and inspiration to all who knew him. He grew up moving between New York, California, and New Jersey. Entering adulthood, he studied trumpet at New Jersey State University, graduated from Florida Bible College, and then earned a Masters in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. During college, he spent a year performing trumpet with His Ambassadors, a traveling Christian music group. He loved to regale family and friends with his many adventures from the road.

After seminary, he married Susan and the two of them moved to Maryland where they started a family. He was dedicated to weekly church services at New Covenant Presbyterian with his family, even if he was notorious for falling asleep during services. He loved his time there, working with New Covenant Players, Junior Church, and the children’s choir, Primary Praise.

Throughout his career, he ran his own consultancy business which he used to support causes close to him and people he cared about. He threw himself into every part of each cause: building websites, publishing books, running local political campaigns, hosting events, and much more. In 2020, after 30 years in Maryland, he moved to Atlanta with Susan where he continued his business. Marco began working on his MBA from Georgia State and got involved with the local business community. He loved the challenge of building a new business community and immediately offered his talents and wisdom to others in his network.

Outside of work, he was dedicated to fostering the next generation of scientists and engineers. He got involved initially by coaching his own kids’ FIRST robotics team. It then became a passion, growing into a program that served over 100 children each year. He started three robotics organizations - Techbrick, Empowermats, and Robotmats- and volunteered tirelessly for FIRST Robotics and the Baltimore School for the Blind robotics teams. 100’s of young people have found their way into technical careers because of his commitment and creative energy; just as important, the young people who crossed his path, left more confident, more competent, and more encouraged to do or be whatever they dreamed.

Beyond his professional life and volunteer record, he leaves a legacy of creative and artistic photographs that capture the people and moments important to him. Photography was more than a hobby; it was a family legacy passed down from his father. In addition to incredible photography for his friends, family, and colleagues, he was a passionate member of the 52 Frames creative photography community for years. He also loved posting location photos on google maps: his work got over 200 millions views total, after which he was invited to Google HQ.

He knew what he liked and enjoyed the little moments in life— looking at his old clocks, impressing the Papa John’s delivery guy with his double bell euphonium, picking up an Arnold Palmer, trying a new food, or adding a new bumper sticker to his car. Whether it was building a projector screen for pool movie nights or designing family reunion t-shirts, he approached life with creativity.

Through every chapter of his life, Marco connected with people and made friends everywhere he went. Whatever community he was part of, he’d jump in to offer support any way he could, from taking pictures to providing technical support to giving encouragement.

As we reflect on his life, please join us to remember his passion, creativity, fun, enthusiasm, and love. Services to celebrate his life will be held on Saturday August 19 at Schimunek Funeral Home in Bel Air, Maryland. Visitation will begin at 9:30 am and the service will begin at 11:00. After the service, light refreshments will be provided at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to Maryland US FIRST, the robotics program where he volunteered or to the Smyrna Public Safety Foundation (SPSF), one of his clients and the team who helped us during the difficult time when he was being treated for cancer.

Maryland US FIRST: https://www.usmf.org/marcociavolino/ SPSF: https://smyrnapsf.org/support

May he rest in peace, knowing that his impact on this world will live on through the lives he touched and the memories he created.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.schimunek-belair.com for the Ciavolino family.