Anna Marie Marino, who 'cast a wide net' dies at 57

ANNA MARIE MARINO grew up in Philadelphia, but when she and her family moved to Groton, Mass., near Boston, she had to learn some un-urban-like pursuits.

Like chopping wood, which she did well, her family said; making fires, which she did badly, and acquiring rabbits, which was just plain silly.

But wherever Anna lived, and she lived in many places - from Philly to Massachusetts, New York, Chicago and Tennessee - she took life in stride and seemed always to have fun.

"She was always happy, energetic, and full of life," her family said.

Anna Marino, the former Anna Porrini, a teacher and devoted family matriarch, died Monday of cancer. She was 57 and lived in Berwyn, Chester County.

"Anna was a woman who led many lives," her family said, "an enthusiast of ballroom dancing who took tango lessons, enjoyed rigorous workouts, the local opera and art museums.

"She cast a wide net and sought to embrace everyone."

Anna was born in Philadelphia to Louis Joseph Porrini and the former Mary Polisano. She attended West Catholic High School and married a neighborhood boy, the late Edward John Marino, in 1971.

The family moved to Wayne, where she later was director of an after-school program in Radnor Township.

In late 1979, the family moved to Groton, then back to Philadelphia in 1984. After a few years, it was back to the Boston area, in the town of Harvard, where they remained until 1992.

They then moved to Chicago.

"Anna was fond of saying, 'I like Chicago, but there's something about it I don't like that I just can't put my finger on.' "

Whatever it was, the family moved again, this time to Rochester, N.Y. There she resumed the education she had begun at Cabrini College, in Wayne, and continued at the National Lewis University, in Chicago. She completed her teaching degree, graduating with honors from Nazareth College, in Rochester.

Finally, after a brief stint in Nashville, the family moved back to the Philadelphia area, to Ber-wyn, where they remained until her death.

She taught elementary school in New York State and Tennessee, never completing her teaching certificate for Pennsylvania.

"She embraced the role of teacher wholeheartedly and with gusto," her family said. "She was a teacher, not just in the classroom, but in her daily life.

"Number one on her list was her family. She was the nucleus around which everything revolved, always getting everyone together, making everyone feel welcomed and loved.

"Just as she was an animated and eager teacher, Anna was a willing participant and avid student of anything that crossed her path.

"She was perennially thoughtful and kind, looking for the best in everyone, a faithful woman who shunned negative gossip and believed that any act of kindness, regardless of how small, was worthy of recognition and a lengthy - and verbose - thank-you note."

She is survived by a daughter, Jennifer A. Gabrielli; a son, Nicholas J. Marino; three brothers, Louis J. Porrini Jr., Francis J. Porrini and Joseph F. Porrini, and two grandchildren.

Services: Funeral Mass 10 a.m. today at St. Norbert Church, 50 Leopard Road, Paoli. Friends may call at 8:30 a.m. at the D'Anjolell Memorial Home of Broom- all, 2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall. Burial will be in Ss. Peter & Paul Cemetery, Marple. *