Listen to your brothers and sisters,

be compassionate with them in their difficulties,

bear with them in their weaknesses,

encourage and support them.

Affirm your brothers and sisters in their gifts,

for by doing so you enable them to realize the

gifts that God has given them for service.

Fundamental Principles of the Xaverian Brothers

Remembering Bob Marinelli

Throughout more than four decades in the Prep community, the longtime coach and main office gatekeeper modeled the Xaverian Way, forming deep connections with grandfatherly patience, meticulous professionalism, and a quiet kindness.

Robert William Marinelli, a retired postal worker, ice hockey coach, football official, and attendance officer who spent 43 years as a member of the St. John’s Prep community, passed away at Kaplan House in Danvers on April 26 due to complications related to a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He was 82.

Born in Stoneham on August 4, 1942, Marinelli grew up on Russell Street in Malden within a football field’s length of Macdonald (then Pearl Street) Stadium. The only son of Anthony, a sheet metal worker for General Electric, and Mary, a homemaker, he graduated from Malden Catholic High in 1960. He and his wife, Massachusetts native Jane (Wright), were married in 1967. 

Marinelli worked 19 years for the United States Postal Service at Logan Airport’s Incoming Mail Center in Chelsea. He came to the Prep for the 1982-83 ice hockey season, working with the freshman team, and joined then-head coach Frank Salvucci as a varsity assistant the following season. By Marinelli’s third year on the staff, the Prep had captured the 1985 Division 1 state championship.

His later accomplishments as head coach were considerable, but in many ways, Marinelli’s legacy will be as the face of St. John’s Prep in his capacity as the school attendance officer, first in Brother Benjamin Hall and later in the Brother Keefe, C.F.X. Academic Center upon its opening in 2015. Marinelli’s seemingly effortless gift for mentorship and forming enduring relationships was propelled by primary character traits like approachability (in spite of his occasionally dour exterior), generosity of spirit, and an uncannily calming effect upon students and adults alike. 

“Bob was a gentle-hearted man who just loved the kids at the Prep,” says Dick St. Pierre P’01, a former school counselor at St. John’s. “His humanity is what stood out. Whether you were the Bishop of Boston or the custodian, he’d treat you the same. He loved a good story, had a very good sense of humor, was a hell of a good listener, and he’d do anything to help you.”

Loyalty deserves a place on that list. Marinelli first came to the Prep at 40, retired from USPS in his 50s, and stepped down as Eagles head coach in his 60s, yet he stayed with the School into his 80s. Why?

“He was dedicated to the students, and they were what kept him going at the Prep,” says Erinn Powers, a student life administrative assistant who spent nearly seven years at the desk adjacent to Marinelli’s in Keefe.

“Bob was the epitome of the St. John’s Prep Eagle. He would tuck those guys under his wing and they would feel at rest—you could tell,” adds Cathy Carroll, Marinelli’s office mate in Ben Hall for a decade after he became a full-time staff member in 2000. “They would keep coming back to the office to see him. Even after they graduated, they still came back.”

Marinelli himself was a product of 1950s and ’60s Malden, a five-square-mile Boston suburb defined by ethnic diversity and tight-knit neighborhoods. Historically a manufacturing enclave, Marinelli’s Malden had seven movie houses and later a drive-in theater. A disruptive period of urban renewal in the 1960s was marked by some revitalization but even more so by population shifts and altered neighborhood diversity. The city, nonetheless, retained a strong sense of community.

His coming of age during an era of light and shade both locally and nationally clearly informed Marinelli’s adult persona.

“He had a gruff exterior, but that was so not him,” says former main office colleague Vange (Surette) Markos. “He wanted to be an example for the boys that ‘this is how you behave; be a gentleman.’ But he was such a caring, kind guy. He was a marshmallow inside.”

Marinelli was a man of quick-witted quips and dad jokes. He maintained a “bottomless” bowl of candy on his work desk for all comers. He loved a wedge salad and possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of pasta varieties and where to buy each one. He curated a collection of school yearbooks and referred to them whenever he was relating an anecdote or detail about an alumnus who’d come up in conversation. He also maintained a directory of all past alums that he “treated like a bible,” says Powers. 

WINNING, ON AND OFF THE ICE

In his 12 years as a head coach, Marinelli’s teams went to the postseason eight times, including seven appearances in the elite Super 8 tournament (now defunct). The Eagles twice reached the Super 8 semifinals. Marinelli retired in 2007 with a record of 132-102-33 (.556 winning percentage). He was inducted into the Massachusetts State Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011.

“He always treated the kids with respect and—as a result— was a very good mentor to tons of them,” says Jim O’Leary, former football head coach and athletic director at St. John’s. “Many of his most important interactions were with some kid sitting there in the main office waiting to see the principal because of a discipline issue. He was the guy sitting out there who said, ‘Hey, you screwed up, but it’s going to be OK. Go in there, be honest, accept responsibility for whatever you did, and respect will come back your way.’ That was his approach with coaching, too. He showed the kids respect, listened to  their problems, and put himself in a position to influence them toward making lifelong good decisions.” 

In 2009, Marinelli became the first Prep staff member (as opposed to faculty) to whom the yearbook was dedicated. In 2015, he became the Prep’s 23rd winner of the Ryken award, the highest honor given by Xaverian Brothers Sponsored schools and presented annually to a member of the staff or faculty for exceptional dedication and commitment to the vision and goals of Xaverian education worldwide. 

Be that as it may, Marinelli wasn’t the kind of person to count the shiny objects in his trophy case.

“He was the most gracious and humble man you could meet—he never sought accolades,” says John Zimini, a coaching colleague and friend of Marinelli’s, who’s spent 41 years with Prep athletics. “He practiced what he preached and tried to ‘do good’ every day. For me, his legacy is one of kindness and integrity. He didn’t have a happy-go-lucky immediate exterior, but you got to know him and he was a real kidder. He was an inspiration to so many around him—a guy kids could easily connect to. He was one of the kindest, most thoughtful men I’ve ever known.”

Marinelli was at home in multiple communities in spite of his reserved manner. He spent three decades as a football official and was also a coordinator for assigning referees to games. He served as moderator of the National Honor Society at the Prep and was involved with the golf program as well as the St. John’s Prep Aviation Club. After leaving his role as varsity head coach, he became Director of Hockey Operations for the program. 

All the same, he was intensely private. Few people know that in July of 1992, Marinelli hit the Mass. Megabucks number and took home a modest payout annually for 20 years. He rarely spoke about it, and he and his wife, Jane, then a secretary, continued working. The couple used portions of the windfall to buy their Malden home and help pay for their youngest son’s college education.

“When I think about Bob, the one word that keeps coming to mind is ‘gracious,’” says Social Studies Teacher Dave Hennessey ’83, Marinelli’s longtime colleague. “One of the cultural norms here at school is the pursuit of excellence. I think Bob was the epitome of that in a very quiet, humble, understated way. He just kind of demanded excellence. He did that with hockey, but he did it in the main office, too. There was always a pretty strong sense there that things were in order, things were being done the way they’re supposed to, and he took a lot of pride in that. You saw how loyal the kids were to him, and the kids wanted to hang around in that main office because this guy was the model of how to do things the right way. Beneath that gentle exterior, mind you, Bob was a tough guy. Old school tough.”

“He never let you get too high or too low as one of his players,” adds Dylan Cox ‘03, who skated for Marinelli at the Prep and now serves as a JV assistant coach. “He was so selfless and made big sacrifices for all of us, even guys who didn’t play for him. All of my friends who didn’t play, they all enjoyed Bob Marelli. He was just such a caring guy.”

Reflections on Marinelli from around the Prep community demonstrate a profound appreciation for his contributions and reinforce how one individual’s character and dedication can resonate across generations. Powerful themes of mentorship, work ethic, humanity, and humor are predominant in the remembrances of friends, colleagues, and alumni. Together, they paint a vivid picture of who he was as a person and what he meant to the lives of those around him. 

“He wasn’t old enough to be my father, but he was like a father figure,” recalls Markos. “To the boys, he was like a grandfather. They had the utmost respect for him, and he taught them to be respectful. He was old-fashioned. Classy. Working with him, you felt like he was a family member. For the boys, he wasn’t Mr. Fun Guy, he was Mr. This Is What I Expect From You and This is How You Become a Good Man. And they loved that about him.”

Marinelli is survived by his wife, Jane, along with sons, Chris and Brian, daughter-in-law, Diana, and granddaughter, Olivia.