Mario J. Pisano 85, of Thief River Falls, MN passed away on Thursday, March 17, 2016 in his home at Greenleaf Assisted Living.

Funeral service will be held Friday, March 25, 2016 at 2:00 PM in Johnson Funeral Service Chapel in Thief River Falls, MN with Reverend Kristen Ostercamp Officiating. Burial will be held later in the spring at Pine Hill Cemetery at Williams, MN.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 24, 2016 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Johnson Funeral Service, Thief River Falls, MN and also one hour prior to the service at the funeral home on Friday.

Mario was born on April 13, 1930 in Chicago, IL to Rocco and Lucy (Conzenza) Pisano. Mario lived in Chicago and worked for Mead's corrugated cardboard facility until 1970 when he was introduced to Janet Walters who worked for his brother, Father Louis Pisano. After many phone calls and plane rides, Mario and Janet were married by his brother and he moved to Syracuse, NY.  He transferred to Mead's New York facility and worked there until starting working for Onondaga County where he worked until he retired early to take care of Janet who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.  Mario lost Janet in May of 1999. The following year he met Joan Craig of Thief River Falls, MN and Mario decided to move to Minnesota to be with Joan. Joan and Mario traveled together and enjoyed each other's company until Joan passed away in November of 2011 due to cancer. Mario was an expert in many things. He was a photographer who developed his own photos, he was a woodworker who made many beautiful pieces, he was a stamp collector, he enjoyed CB radios and talked to many people, and he built his first computer in the 1990s and loved to learn new technology. He had many dogs who he loved dearly. Mario loved to fish and camp and went on many camping trips in the last few years.

Mario is survived by his brother, William Pisano of Chicago, IL, nephews and nieces, Donald, Madelyn, Alex, LuAnn, Billy, Rocky and Michael,  Joan's daughters, Kelly (Tod) Matelski of Warren, MN, Paula Craig of Thief River Falls, MN and Wendy (Bill) Klopp of Thief River Falls, MN and five grandchildren, Andrew Matelski,  Trevor Matelski, Samantha Klopp, Taylor Klopp and Christopher Klopp.

Mario was preceded in death by his wife Janet; his parents, Lucy and Rocco Pisano; and siblings, Mario (who he was named after), Bess (John) Rago, Peter (June) Pisano, Raphael (Connie) Pisano, Fr. Louis Pisano, and Salvatore (Irene) Pisano and sister-in-law, Lynn Pisano.