Bernard (Ben) J. Marasco, 79
July 4, 2012
Bernard (Ben) J. Marasco, 79, of Santa Maria, Calif., died Wednesday, July 4, 2012.
He was born Aug. 8, 1932, in Punxsutawney, a son of the late Rosario and Josephine (Serian) Marasco.
Jan. 30, 1954, he married the former Carol O'Leary, daughter of John and Winifred O'Leary.
Mr. Marasco attended elementary school in Walston and graduated from Ss. Cosmas & Damian High School in 1950.
He attended St. Vincent College in Latrobe for one year, then transferred to Gannon University in Erie and was a member of the first graduating class of the School of Engineering in 1955.
Mr. Marasco worked for Bell Aircraft in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Alamogordo, N.M., on the Rascal Missile program. In 1959, he went to work for Lockheed Missiles & Space at Vandenberg AFB until his retirement in 1993.
He was an engineer and manager for hundreds of missile launches, military, spy and commercial.
He is survived by three sons, Jeffrey, Tom and Michael, all of Santa Maria; three brothers, Fred and Ed, of California, and Fran, of Greensburg; and a sister, Rosemarie, of California.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, James, in 1981.
A funeral service and burial will be held in Santa Maria.
