East Huntingdon radiologist achieved ‘the American dream’
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When Benedict Mariano Jr. decided he wanted to pursue the American dream, his whole family worked to help him achieve it.
“He was the oldest of six kids, and his father was gone a lot working on a boat, so he was kind of the man of the family,” said his stepdaughter, Jennifer Broush of Greensburg. “His whole family worked together to get him educated and to help him get out of the Philippines, where there’s sort of constantly wars going on.”
In the early 1950s, he came to the U.S. after earning his undergraduate medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. He completed his residency in radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes Hospital in St. Louis.
Dr. Benedict Pilar Mariano Jr. of East Huntingdon died Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019, of complications from heart disease. He was 87.
Dr. Mariano was born July 12, 1932, in the Philippines, a son of the late Benedicto Mariano Sr. and Pilar H. del Pilar Mariano. After working briefly in Minnesota, Dr. Mariano began working as a doctor and radiologist at West Penn Hospital, Jeannette Hospital and Monsour Medical Center.
At Jeannette Hospital, he met his wife, Gaile, who was working in nursing administration.
“He and my mother used to do a lot of dancing,” Broush said. “They’d attend events through the hospital, and he used to get a lot of comments on his dancing skills.”
Dr. Mariano was also a lifelong automobile aficionado and member of the Laurel Highlands Model Airplane Club.
“We used to go to Mammoth Park every weekend,” Broush said. “We’d sit and watch while they flew planes.”
Dr. Mariano was a member of New Stanton Church as well as the Radiological Society of North America. He enjoyed cooking, reading, and tinkering with and collecting toys.
In his spare time, Dr. Mariano could often be found singing Frank Sinatra tunes.
“He loved having folks over to his house and ‘feeding the masses,’ ” Broush said. “He was a kind, friendly man, and it seemed like everybody knew him.”
Dr. Mariano is survived by his wife, Gaile (Kramer); two daughters, Michelle and Renee Mariano; a brother, Romeo Mariano; a sister, Florentina Whaley; stepchildren Jennifer Broush, Jules Shenk and Adam Bellone; and six grandchildren.
Family and friends will be received from 2-8 p.m. Thursday at Kepple-Graft Funeral Home, 524 S. Main St. in Greensburg.
A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at New Stanton Church, 612 S. Center Ave., New Stanton.
Memorial donations can be made to the American Heart Association.