Sales Educator Dr. Peter A. Marino Passes at 85

Furniture World News Desk on 2/14/2017

Peter Anthony Marino recently passed away on at Neilson Place in Bemidji MN. He was 85.

Marino was an accomplished sales educator and group leader who wrote extensively on sales training techniques and their furniture retailing applications for FURNITURE WORLD Magazine.

He had deep experience with furniture retailers as a top furniture salesman, sales manager, corporate trainer and consultant. Dr. Marino earned undergraduate degrees in English and philosophy, plus a Ph. D. in ancient Greek, Latin and related literature. He taught for many years both at the secondary and university levels.

Marino’s parents immigrated to the United States from Porticello, Sicily. As a young man he signed up as a seminarian to become a missionary priest. He attended the Gregorian University in Rome for his Undergraduate Degree, and received his graduate degree in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin. Then in an unlikely twist of fate he entered the furniture business as a retail salesperson.

Throughout his life, Peter Marino was driven by that same charitable desire that prompted him to sign up to enter the priesthood. He never forgot the sacrifices his father made for him, nor the folk wisdom his mother passed on to him.

“For all of his deep practical and academic knowledge of sales skills,” said Russell Bienenstock, Editor / CEO of Furniture World Magazine, “it never seemed to occur to him to promote or “sell” his talents and expertise in the world of commerce. His humility was such that his only desire was to give others a helping hand.”

Marino’s furniture related books include “The Golden Rules of Selling Bedding,” “Stop Losing Those Bedding Sales,” “Alice In Furnitureland,” “Selling by Proxy” and “Winning Bragging Rights.” A resident of Minnesota, Dr. Marino enjoyed teaching, early morning fishing, writing and working with children with autism and serious behavioral problems.

A life long learner he spoke seven languages and taught Latin, Greek and Italian for free. In addition to his furniture sales volumes, he wrote extensively on philosophy and theology. Most recently he worked as a para-professional in Cass Lake, MN and the Bemidji, MN schools. He is survived and loved by his two brothers and one sister, four children, 11 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. He will be missed.