Obituary of Marcos Ionescu

Marcos Dragos Ionescu, a resident of Lagrange New York, died at
home on Friday, September 8th, 2023 at the age of 79. Marcos had many
health conditions over the years which led to his passing.
Marcos lived life on his own terms. The evening before his passing,
he was playing his favorite card game and talking about how grateful he
was for the life he led and all of the blessings that he experienced in his
life. He regularly expressed gratitude for his fortunate life. He always made
sure to let his good friends and family know that they were loved and he
knew how much he was loved by others. Nothing was ever left unsaid.
Marcos led a full and fascinating life. He was born April 25, 1944 in
Bucharest, Romania in a Red Cross shelter as bombs were dropping above
ground. Both of his parents were prominent opera singers before the war. In
1946, as communism took over his native country, he and his parents
escaped in the middle of the night and made it to Italy. They settled in Rome
where his parents continued with their music career. In 1951, his parents
were invited to use their talents in Argentina. They immigrated to Buenos
Aires where his mother performed at the Teatro Colon which is still one of
the most important opera houses in the world. His father hosted a radio
show featuring operatic music and also performed on stage. At the age of
19, Marcos and his parents came to the United States and settled in
Cleveland, Ohio. It was then that Marcos quickly learned to speak English
which was his seventh language .
Marcos received his Bachelors degree in Pre-Med at John Carroll
University. Soon after, he moved to NYC to pursue his Masters in
Philosophy at the New School For Social Research. He transferred to
CUNY at Brooklyn College to finish up his Philosophy degree. It was there
that one of his professors, who was amazed at Marcos’ academic abilities
and experience, convinced him to pursue a degree in Experimental
Psychology.

He received his Ph.D from the City University of New York and
started his career as a professor of Psychology. He began his life long
career in academia at Ohio University from 1993 to 1996 until he found
his final position as an associate professor at Marist College in
Poughkeepsie, New York . He educated and inspired thousands of
students at Marist over twenty five years until his retirement in 2021.
Marcos was a voracious reader who read no less than five books
each week. To say he was an avid jazz enthusiast is an understatement. He
collected every genre of jazz music and was more knowledgeable than
most of those in that field.

Marcos was predeceased by his loving parents, Mikhail Ionescu and
Felicia (nee Volanescu) Ionescu. He now rests with his brother in law,
Joseph Caravello and Philip (Phillie Boy) Raso who he looked upon as his
“brother from another mother”. He leaves behind his cherished daughter,
Iulia Ionescu who was the light of his life. He is also survived by Janet
Caravello who was his wife, life partner and best friend for 38 years.
Marcos is very much missed by his cousins, Andrei, Christina, and Liviu
Serbanescu who he loved very much. Marcos traveled the world with his
parents as an only child, he was overwhelmed with joy to join Janet’s large
Italian family who welcomed him as their own from the moment they met
him. He is survived by his sisters in law, Dianne Raso and Barbara
Caravello, and his brother in law, James Caravello and his partner , Eileen
Cleary. He also is survived by his nieces and nephews Alex, Christopher
and Danielle Raso, Renee, Patrick, Lila and Cameron Urban and Brandon
and Jonathan Caravello.
Marcos will be forever in our hearts.