Mark J. Pero

PERO, MARK J., 62
Ocala - Mark J. Pero, 62, of Ocala passed away peacefully on March 29, 2011, at the Palliative Care Unit of the VA Hospital in Gainesville, FL after a brave battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). He leaves his loving wife, Janice; sisters: Judith Pagnini of Mechanicsville, VA and Nancy Clark; as well as many nieces, nephews, and grandnieces and nephews in Virginia, North and South Carolina and New Jersey. Mark was born on January 26, 1949, in Stafford Springs, CT to Mary Y. and Robert F. Pero. The family moved to Richmond, VA in 1958 where Mark graduated from Douglas Freeman H.S. in 1967. He ran for the track team both in high school and in college at Virginia Tech before joining the U. S. Navy in 1969. He spent most of his Navy career in Naples, Italy, in land-based submarine communications, and joined the U. S. Department of State's Foreign Service in 1976 as a Communications Officer. Mark returned to Italy in 1976, serving in Rome at the American Embassy, where he met his wife, Janice Bywaters, and they were married in 1979. Mark and Jan served together with the U.S. State Department's Foreign Service at U. S. embassies in Malawi, India, Czechoslovakia, New Zealand, Brazil and Guatemala, and at the State Department in Washington, D.C. until their retirement in 2000. After retiring to the Ocala area in 2001, they continued to travel the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia usually accompanied by their favorite traveling companions, Jane and Joe Graff of Pennsylvania. Mark was an avid sports car racing enthusiast who enjoyed camping trips with his many "racing buddies" at tracks in Sebring and Daytona Beach, Florida and at Road Atlanta in Georgia. He and Jan were dedicated and loyal fans of the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs. He loved photography, running, fast-pitch softball, volleyball and tennis in his younger years; and bicycling the roads and trails of northern Virginia and north central Florida after his retirement. Mark never met a stranger and has friends all over the world who will miss his warmth, wit, and ready smile. A memorial service will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16th, at Roberts Funeral Homes, Bruce Chapel East (2739 SE Maricamp Rd., Ocala, 732-9944) with interment at a later date at the Good Shepherd Memorial Gardens in Ocala. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the ALS Association or the Humane Society of Marion County in Mark's honor.