Mario Parisella

The lifelong Staten Islander was born in Stapleton and attended McKee High School. He lived in Concord and South Beach after he and Rosalie Testa wed, then returned to Stapleton in 1963 and to Concord in 1974.

He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, taking part in the invasion of Normandy and seeing duty in France, England, Scotland and Wales.

After his return from the war, Mr. Parisella began working at the former Halloran Hospital. When it closed, he went to work for the Brooklyn VA Hospital as an operating room technician until 1980. He then was an OR technician for SIUH for 10 years, until retiring in 1990.

He had a green thumb and loved gardening. He raised the best tomatoes ever from seeds saved each year, family said, and shared the bounty with friends and neighbors. In addition to vegetables, he also enjoyed growing roses and lilacs.

Mr. Parisella also loved the family's poodles -- Sheba, Penny (Penny Lane), Wendy and Jolie -- over almost 30 years.

He doted on his granddaughters, Loren and Rebecca, and loved taking care of them.

Mr. Parisella was a parishioner of St. Sylvester's R.C. Church, Concord.

Rosalie, his wife of 51 years, died in 2005.

Surviving are his son, Michael; his daughters, Linda Palazzo and Lisa Parisella Kaye, and his granddaughters.

The funeral will be Thursday from the Casey Funeral Home, Castleton Corners, with a mass at 10 a.m. in St. Sylvester's Church. Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.