Charles B Marino (1928-2024) was born in Bryan, TX and was a life-long Houstonian. He passed away on April 12, 2024. Charlie lived a mid-twentieth century life, with many achievements, successes, foibles and concomitant setbacks. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School in 1945, as WWII was coming to a close. His classmates at SFA HS remained his lifelong friends. Underage for service, he enlisted in the Marine Corps at the age of 17 with Grandma Viviani's permission. Honorably discharged as a private first class, he started college at Texas A&M College (not then a university) but transferred to the University of Houston, where he was matriculated with a bachelor's degree in petroleum geology. Charlie was always eager to make something of himself. He chose geology as a field of study because Daddy Charlie told him about the oil men who frequented Jerry's Inn in their cufflinks and Cadillacs and Buicks.
He met Valeta Purrington when they both worked at British American Oil, and after a brief, 12-year courtship, they married in 1961. Charlie struck out on his own as an independent oil man and had his fist office in the San Jacinto Building in downtown Houston. Spectacular successes and failures followed in an entrepreneurial career that spanned four decades. Charlie expanded his "empire" to include the ownership of four local banks, one of the first cable television companies, real estate holdings, and a constantly changing, eclectic mix of novel start-up business prospects. A "Professor for a Day" at the University of Houston college of business, Marino told his students, "In order to fully understand the free enterprise system, you must own it."
The University of Houston always held a special place in Charlie's heart. From his college days with the Frontier Fiesta, to his service on the Board of Regents and its athletic committee -from the infamous imposition of personal NCAA sanctions to the prestigious bestowal of the University's Distinguished Alumnus Award - Charles B Marino's heart truly bled "Cougar Red."
Charlie was a Marine. "Semper Fi," he would say, with a sardonic twist. Although he never "heard a shot fired in anger," he served honorably, and his service played an important part in shaping his personality. He ultimately achieved the rank of Lieutenant, serving in San Diego in the Office of Groundwater Resources during the Korean conflict. Charlie being Charlie, his time in uniform also included a short stint in the brig, during which time he learned to untie a knot in a single strand of hair, the taxing work of sorting potatoes according to size, and the relative value of time and freedom.
Charlie was a truly faithful Catholic man. He taught his children the importance of faith and, indirectly, the truth of mercy and forgiveness. Widowed twice, to Val and Jo, he died with the sacraments and is buried in Forest Park Lawndale beside Val. He is survived by his children, grandchildren Janie and Joe and their spouses, and four great grandchildren, including Dominic, Rosalie, and two more to be named later.
Charlie's life included a collection of wonderful, colorful friends, most of whom he outlived in his long and colorful life. That he is loved and remembered with such fondness despite his faults, is a testament to his charm, generosity, and virtue. In the end, we believe with Val that "he's where he wants to be."
A visitation in chapel for Charles will be held Sunday, April 21, 2024 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home. A funeral service will occur Monday, April 22, 2024 at 12:00 PM. A committal service will occur Monday, April 22, 2024 at 1:00 PM at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery.
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