Mauro Gregory Carbone

Mauro Gregory Carbone, DVM, of Arlington, Virginia went with God on Wednesday, August 23, 2017. He was 95 years old. Born in 1922, the only son of Italian immigrant tailors, he spent his early days in “the real” Little Italy in the Bronx, surrounded by his extended Italian family and playing mostly in the streets and an empty lot with a tight-knit group of friends, one of whom traded him a stolen microscope for worthless trinkets and launched him on his career in biology and, eventually, animal medicine. Dr. Carbone entered the City College of New York when he was 15 years-old and later completed his doctorate in veterinary medicine at Middlesex University in Medford, Massachusetts then served as ship’s veterinarian with United Nations Relief after the end of World War II, shipping horses to Poland. On Independence Day 1946, about 6 months after the end of the war, he married the former Lynn Solar, also of New York, to whom he remained devoted for the rest of his life. The couple moved to Arlington that same year, had the first of their four children, and lived upstairs from the newly opened Carbone Animal Hospital, which was located on Lee Highway in the Cherrydale area of Arlington. It was not long before the veterinary practice was thriving and was moved to its new home on Glebe Road, where it remained for the next 25 years while Dr. Carbone established a regional reputation for excellent veterinary care combined with unusual warmth and concern for the well-being of pets and their owners. In 1963, he invented a surgery that solved the serious problem of urethral obstruction in male cats, a procedure that has since become a staple of veterinary practice and is credited with saving the lives of countless animals. He helped to organize the District of Columbia Academy of Veterinary Medicine, serving as its president in 1971, and was involved for many years with the Animal Welfare League, lectured around the country on veterinary surgery, taught college biology, was active for a time in local politics and eventually became an avid environmentalist, working to protect waterways and championing recycling. Especially after leaving his veterinary practice in 1980, he became increasingly engaged in athletic pursuits, primarily running, tennis, which he played into his early 90’s, and windsurfing until he was 89. More than anything, he was a devoted father and grandfather. He had a clever sense of humor and loved to laugh, loved the company of others, and loved to love. He is survived and deeply missed by Lynn, his loving wife of 71 years, their three remaining children and spouses, Greg and Diane Carbone of North Yarmouth, ME, Daniel Carbone of Arlington VA, and Elisa Carbone and Jim Casbarian of Silver Springs, MD. Tragically, he endured the crushing loss of his youngest daughter, Nina Ellen Weaver, in an automobile accident in 1981. Also left behind are seven grandchildren, Natalia and husband Matthew Fulton of Cumberland, ME, Emilia Carbone and husband Jedediah Beach of Lincolnville, ME, Genevieve and husband Patrick Obrien of Worcester, MA, Daniel Nugent and wife Janelle Cronk of Martinez, CA, Rachel Nugent and husband Mark Miskolczi of Westfield, NJ, Nicholas Carbone of Springfield, VA, Kingsley Weaver and husband Andrew Kephart of Chicago, IL, and 11 great-grandchildren, Eloise and Marlena Fulton, Ray, Silas, and Luca Beach, Haylie, Jacob, and Ander Obrien, Alex Miskolczi, Emma Nugent, and Everett Kephart. Funeral services will be held at 1 pm on Friday, September 1, 2017 at St. Agnes Church in Arlington, 1910 North Randolph Street, followed by interment at National Memorial Park in Falls Church, VA and a reception at the family home. The family will greet friends at a viewing on Thursday, August 31, 2017, from 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 8pm at Murphy Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Blvd,. Arlington, VA.