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Long-Married Couple Pass Away Within Days of One Another

CARBONDALE — Mourners packed into Gabriel Funeral Home in Carbondale Monday to say farewell to two well-known members of the community. Marino and Benedet...

CARBONDALE -- Mourners packed into Gabriel Funeral Home in Carbondale Monday to say farewell to two well-known members of the community.

Marino and Benedetta Zazzera of Carbondale passed away within days of each other last week at Sacred Heart Hospice in Dunmore.

91-year-old Marino died Wednesday. 40 hours later, his 89-year-old wife of 67 years followed him.

Their daughters say their parents are at peace together.

“I just say there's comfort amidst the sorrow. There truly is. They suffered for a long time,” said Betsy Keating.

“There's a great joy and comfort in knowing but more over theirs is a true love story,” said Mary Theresa Zazzera.

Mary Theresa and Betsy say their parents had a wonderful and full life, with their father, a chef, and mother, a baker, opening the Ben-Mar Restaurant in Carbondale in 1963.

“It's still a restaurant. My brother manages it now. He runs it,” said Betsy.

Their parents also championed the St. Jude's Children Hospital through fundraising.

“So proud of dad,” said Betsy. “He established a benefit for St. Jude, and they shared that devotion together and he's pretty well known for that.”

Mary Fabritious was the couple's social worker at Sacred Heart Hospice for about a year and a half.

Fabritious says Benedetta was checked in to the center for breathing problems.

“We knew that her husband was at home, and we didn't want to separate them, but we also found criteria that her husband met to be admitted to the inpatient unit as well,” said Fabritious.

Fabritious is just glad they were together when they passed.

“I think both of them were at peace in their passing,” said Fabritious.

Funeral services for the Zazzeras will be held Tuesday morning.

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