Louis Marangoni

Louis Marangoni, 94, of Stafford passed away on June 25 at Charter Senior Living in Fredericksburg. Louis was the second of six children born to Guido Enrico Marangoni and Mary Edith Walls in Superior, West Virginia.

Louis enlisted in the Army in 1946, at the end of WWII, and was sent to Fort McClellan, Alabama for his Basic Training. He only received six weeks of training before he was shipped out to Korea, where he was made Squad Leader and promoted to Sergeant – at the ripe old age of 16. Within the year he promoted to Staff Sergeant.

He shipped back to the US in 1948 and briefly left the Army. He quickly realized that working in a machine shop was not the career for him, so he re-enlisted. Camp Pickett, VA and Fort Meade, MD were among his assignments. While at Fort Meade he met Marie Damizia, who quickly caught his eye and captured his heart. They wed in September 1951, and a life of adventure ensued. By 1952 the Army sent them to Kempten, Germany, where Louis was Chief Clerk and Billeting NCO of Kempten Housing Community. Next was Philadelphia and a National Guard advisory post. Then they shipped out to Bangkok, Thailand for a two-year posting, then back to Germany and work at the embassy in Bonn. Their son, Guy, was born in Wiesbaden during this tour. Accra, Ghana and Amman, Jordan were his final two Army assignments before he retired and he moved the family to Glen Burnie, Maryland in 1968.

After working for several civilian engineering companies for many years, Louis eventually resumed working for the Army as a civilian at Fort Detrick in the Army Medical Research Command, where he was Chief of Military Personnel until he fully retired in 1995 and moved to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. Life in Waynesboro settled into a comfortable pace of golfing, and bridge parties with Marie. They were overjoyed to add a daughter-in-law to the family in 2004 and two grandsons in 2005 and 2010.

Louis was also known as “Lou” or “Mac,” but his favorite nickname was “Pop Pop.” His grandsons gave him and Marie such delight and happiness; they were endlessly proud grandparents. They relished attending school band concerts and baseball games and everything that required a cheering section.

Louis was soft-spoken and known for his kindness and an ever-present twinkle in his eye. He made friends wherever he travelled. He was happy to visit family in Montefiascone, Italy, where there is a huge network of cousins and other relatives, and where “Zio Luigi” will be missed terribly.

Louis is preceded in death by his parents, his siblings Santina, Betty, Jimmy and Freddie; his beloved wife of 69 years, Marie. He is survived by a brother, Edward (Sandy) of Virginia Beach; his son, Guy (Leslie) and grandsons Louis and John, of Stafford, Virginia; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The burial service will take place at 1:00 pm Monday, July 8 at Quantico National Cemetery.