Mariano (Mario) Mangiapelo, passed away on June 20, 2022 at 94 years old. He lived in Laguna Woods, CA for the past 30 + years and took his last breath from the comfort of his home with family at his side. Mario fought a 3-month battle with kidney cancer with strength and courage. He was the last of his 3 siblings (all sisters) to pass away. He is survived by his step-daughter, Leslie Sexton, his nephew and namesake, Thomas Mario Shook and his niece, Maryann Kroh.

He also leaves behind dozens of loved ones both here in the U.S. and in his parents' native country, Italy. He was named after his paternal grandfather, Mariano, who was born in Fumone, Italy where his father was also born. Both his parents were from Italy and Mario was proud to be a first generation American, born in Chicago, Illinois in 1928. He served in the Army Air Forces in 1946-1947 as an aerial photographer and enjoyed telling the story when he almost fell from a plane (if it weren't for his buddy) because there weren't any seat belts or harnesses back then.

Mario and his family moved to California where he was stationed while in the service and shortly thereafter, he met the love of his life, Marilyn Sexton. They were married in 1966 and resided in Long Beach, CA until they moved to Laguna Woods in the late 80s. Mario worked at the United States Postal Service until he retired at age 65. After retirement, Mario and Marilyn, affectionately known as "The M&M's" spent their time traveling, dancing on stage, ushering at plays, volunteering at Pageant of the Masters and generally just having fun! Mario tried his hand at acting and received many offers for work as an extra in hits such as "The Couch Trip" (1988) starring Dan Aykroyd and Walter Matthau and the stage performance "How to Kill a Mockingbird" in which he played the leading role of Atticus.

In 2009, after 43 years of marriage, sadly Mario lost his wife Marilyn.

Some of Mario's favorite past times included playing poker, betting on horse races, poker, bingo, poker, spending time with his family and did I mention playing poker? Poker was his passion, in fact, 12 hours prior to his last breath on earth, Mario was playing poker with his best friend Yvonne at which time he won $8.00 in the final jackpot. Yes, Mario was a winner in all areas of his life from the way he cared for his loved ones to his endearing sense of humor. He will be greatly missed but never forgotten.