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22 THE COURIER SUN • JULY 11, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com 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 multimillion-dollar 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 Photo Courtesy of Margie Hackford Marinos Vourderis, the founder of Marino’s Italian Ices, has died at age 97. 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 aren’t going to do in a lifetime,” Barrone said. OBITUARY Antoinette “Ann” Maggio BY LIAM LA GUERRE lguerre@queenscourier.com Antoinette “Ann” Maggio, president of the Citizens for a Better Ridgewood Civic Association and a prominent member of Community Board 5, passed away on July 5. She was 90 years old. “Ann Maggio dedicated countless hours fi ghting for a better Ridgewood,” Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley said. “In our hearts her relentless civic activism will always be remembered, and I offer my deepest condolences to her family and loved ones during this diffi cult time.” Maggio graduated from Hunter College in 1944 and then worked for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. She stayed with the company until 1948, when she married Anthony Maggio. Maggio and her husband had two children, Joann and Anthony Jr. As her children grew older, she became more involved in St. Aloysius, where she was a teacher from 1967 to 1983. Maggio was always dedicated to civic work. She was the secretary of the Onderdonk Civic Organization until 1993 and was the president and a founding member of the Suydam Street Block Association. She was also a trustee of the St. Aloysius Parish, a member of the President’s Advisory Board of the Peter Cardella Senior Citizens Center and a member of the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center Advisory Board. At the time of her passing, she was a member of CB5 and president of Citizens for a Better Ridgewood. In 2004, Maggio received the Queens Heroine Award from Borough President Helen Marshall for Women’s Heritage Month. Maggio is survived by her daughter, now a teacher at Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville; her son, a retired police offi cer; her daughter-in-law Tracy; and her grandson Andrew. When the Full-Service commercial Printing Digital • Offset Variable Data Printing • Mailing Services Scan Here for $25.00 Off Or use our online quote form and mention this ad 110 Schmitt Blvd., Farmingdale, NY 11735 Forecast is Color! 631-694-1500 www.directprintingconnection.com


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