FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com JULY 11, 2013 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17 SWEET LEGACY Marino’s Italian Ices founder passes away BY MELISSA CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com The founder of Marino’s Italian Ices who passed away last week leaves behind a sweet treat and a lasting legacy. Marinos Vourderis, who made his millions in Queens, died July 2 in his Jamaica Estates home, his family said. He was 97. “He was just an amazing man,” said his granddaughter Kristen Breglio. “He would give you anything that he could. He was very generous his whole life.” Vourderis was a ship engineer in the 1930s, when he left his small-town home in Aegion, Greece to start a new life in the United States, his family said. With no money or schooling, but a hope in his heart, he settled in Queens and later started a distribution business called Olympic Ice Cream Company with his wife in the 1960s. “He certainly had a vision and he took that and ran with it,” said Breglio, 33. “That’s how he got his start in the ice cream business. From there, they got the idea to make ices.” Vourderis began dabbling with his own “old world” recipes, making the frozen treats in his basement. Once perfected, he introduced his Marino’s Italian Ices at the 1964 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows. The product grew into a multimilliondollar company based in Richmond Hill, where it still is today. “He would always say, ‘Not bad for sugar and water,’” his granddaughter said. Seeing the ubiquitous ices in stores, the family said, puts a smile on their faces even more now. “I’m very proud to say that he’s my dad,” said his daughter Margie Hackford. “With no formal education, he was able to come and make the American dream happen.” Hackford remembers her father for being selfl ess, saying he was always willing to give people down on their luck jobs or loan out money. “People who had nowhere to go would come to my father. He would fi nd a way to help you,” said Hackford, 57. “We’re just really happy that he was able to leave such an amazing legacy behind.” Marino’s Italian Ices, a beloved summertime treat, can be found in supermarkets, pizzerias, restaurants and pushcarts throughout the country. The company even opened its fi rst offi cial scoop shop in August 2010 in Shanghai, China. Mike Barrone, who co-owned the company with Vourderis since 2000, said the Italian ice king was an excellent businessman who “had an open heart.” “He did stuff that other people Photo Courtesy of Margie Hackford Marinos Vourderis, the founder of Marino’s Italian Ices, has died at age 97. aren’t going to do in a lifetime,” Barrone said. What every woman should know about Long Island hospitals. Healthgrades ® ® has recognized only one New York State hospital for its superior care of women*: Winthrop. If every hospital provided women with the same level of care as Winthrop and the other Women’s Health Excellence Award™ recipients, nearly 40,000 lives could have been saved†. A recent landmark study by Healthgrades®, the leading independent health care ratings organization, of women aged 65 years and older, 2008-2010, reveals some alarming facts. Following a heart attack, for example, women receive far fewer surgical interventions than men. And when they do, women suffer a 29.1% higher death rate. Other disturbing disparities were found across 16 of the most common diagnoses and procedures among women. But women are not powerless. A small percentage of hospitals are doing a far superior job for women. And saving thousands of lives. Only one of these elite institutions is located in Nassau and Suffolk counties – Winthrop-University Hospital. Your health means everything. To you and your family. To learn more, visit winthrop.org or call 1.866.WINTHROP for a physician referral. Winthrop-University Hospital is one of only seven hospitals nationwide, and the only hospital in New York State, to simultaneously receive all three of these achievements. 259 F irst S t reet, M ineola, N ew York 1 1501 • 1 .866.WINTHROP • w inthrop.org * As measured by outcomes in Women’s Health, Gynecologic Surgery and Maternity Care, 2012. † Healthgrades 2012 Trends in Women’s Health In American Hospitals. OBITUARY FORMER CITY COUNCILMEMBER WALTER MCCAFFREY Former City Councilmember Walter McCaffrey, known for his generosity and effectiveness in offi ce, has died. He was 64. McCaffrey represented Council District 26, including Woodside, Sunnyside, Long Island City, Astoria and Maspeth, for nearly two decades until he was termlimited out of offi ce in 2001. One of his successors, Jimmy Van Bramer, said the veteran McCaffrey was “one of the smartest and most clever elected offi cials in the history of western Queens.” “He was a political giant,” Van Bramer added. “Walter knew politics and the district better than just about anyone.” State Senator Michael Gianaris said McCaffrey served the community with “distinction” for decades. “His intelligence and pleasant demeanor made him both effective and a pleasure to work with. He will be sorely missed,” he said. Borough President Helen Marshall recalled McCaffrey’s eloquent and effective nature of speaking. “When he stood in the council chamber to speak, everyone listened,” she said. “He was a good lawmaker who left his mark on New York City government and the communities in Queens that he loved and represented so well.” McCaffrey was known to have passed landmark legislation while in offi ce, including renaming a portion of Queens Boulevard as the “Boulevard of Bravery” in honor of the fi refi ghters who died in 9/11 – one of his last legislative acts. Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered that fl ags in all fi ve boroughs be lowered to half-staff in memory of the late politician. “He left us too soon. He will be missed by many,” Marshall said. Funeral arrangements were yet to be arranged as of press time.
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