Joseph Vincent Maranto

Joseph Vincent Maranto Joseph Vincent Maranto, 84, multiple-prize-winning corporate editor who began his career as a reporter for the Houston Post and Houston Chronicle, died of a stroke Thursday, February 24, 2011, at the University of Virginia Medical Center.

The tenth child of Sicilian immigrants, Maranto was born August 27, 1926 in Marshall, Texas, where his father was a grocer. When the Ku Klux Klan threatened the family, they moved to Port Arthur, Texas. Upon graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School, he joined the United States Navy in 1944 with five friends and served in the Pacific theatre.

While attending Lamar Junior College in Beaumont, after the war he got a job as a copy boy at the Beaumont Enterprise; there his lifelong love of writing and editing began.

At the University of Houston, he edited the Cougar newspaper and was named one of four outstanding seniors. He joined the Houston Post and edited a military service members' edition of the paper. He was also part of the growing arts and music scene in Houston.

In 1951, he met Margarette "Maggie" Stubblefield, and they married a year later. He then moved to the Houston Chronicle, where he edited the neighborhood sections of the paper, and interviewed celebrities from Rin Tin Tin to Castro. He also produced jazz concerts in Houston and Austin, bringing musicians like Dave Brubeck to the state for the first time.

In 1959, Maranto took a job with Magnolia Petroleum Company in Dallas, which soon merged with New York-based Mobil Oil Company. He moved to Mobil corporate headquarters in 1960 and ultimately became manager of employee publications. His love of modern art led him to seek out outstanding contemporary designers, photographers, and illustrators. He turned the flagship monthly paper, Mobil World, into an award-winning nationally recognized publication. His unerring editorial judgment and flair for headlines and crisp copy won him 16 Gold Quill Awards from the International Association of Business Communicators.

After a stint at Occidental Petroleum Corporation in Los Angeles from 1971 to 1975, Maranto returned to Mobil, where he finished his career.

Following his retirement, he founded, designed, edited, and produced the Maranto Memo, a monthly small magazine for corporate editors. Once again, his wit and intellect drew accolades within the professional community.

In 1997, Joe moved to Charlottesville, where the red clay soil reminded him of his East Texas roots.

Joe was a talented baseball player in his youth. Later, an avid gardener, he turned his yard in Wilton, Connecticut, into a mini Stonehenge. He was an unfailing friend and mentor to many. He read omnivorously and was a bona fide newsaholic, subscribing to many dozens of magazines and newspapers over the years to take the pulse of the world. He always sought out the most current painters and writers. He listened to everyone from Bach to the Beatles, but jazz was his passion, especially the alto saxophone. He shared his love with others, producing compilation tapes for his many friends.

In his twenties, he taught himself the saxophone and loved to play along with his favorite "cats". At the end of his life, jazz comforted him: a caring nurse at the University of Virginia Medical Center emergency room set the radio to Big Band tunes and the classic "Begin the Beguine," with the love of those present, bore him from his life.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Maggie of Charlotteseville; his daughter, Gina and her husband, Mark Derr, of Miami Beach; and his son Marcus, of Charlottesville. He is sorely missed.

A memorial will be held 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, 2011, at Hill and Wood Funeral Service, First and Market Streets.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.