Mario Romano Mion was born June 30, 1937, in Tilburg, the Netherlands, the son of Antonio Pasquale and Irene (Rosa) Mion. Having been exiled by the Dutch authorities, his family returned to his parents’ village of Fanna, in northeast Italy, in the summer of 1947. Mario finished elementary school in Fanna and attended the Salesian Don Bosco middle school in Pordenone. In 1956, Mario immigrated to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to work as a ceramic tile setter. In 1960, he was drafted by the U.S. Army, serving his military obligation at Camp Wolters, Texas. Before his discharge, he became a citizen of the United States. Returning to Kalamazoo, the GI Bill permitted him to attend Western Michigan University. He pursued a double major in Political Science and Spanish, graduating in 1967. A Danforth scholarship allowed him to attend the University of Wisconsin, from which he graduated with a Ph.D. in Political Philosophy. In 1970, Mario and Zaiga Polis were married in the Kanley Chapel on the Western Michigan University campus. After teaching several years at the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse, Mario joined the faculty of Columbus College in Columbus, Georgia in 1975, retiring from Columbus State University in 2005.

Mario was passionate about post-secondary education, dedicating his energies to teaching, mentoring and administrative responsibilities. He received great satisfaction from his academic endeavors, served as chair of the department of Political Science, and won Educator of the Year in 1989. He enjoyed traveling, dancing, wood-working, mosaic art, writing poetry, volunteering, a good cup of coffee and a glass of vino rosso. But most of all, Mario enjoyed his loving family.

He is survived by his wife Zaiga; his daughters Monica (Cary) Cook of Evansville, Indiana, Antoinette Mion of Columbus, Georgia and Anna (Paul) Mion of Columbus, Georgia; his grandson Anthony of Columbus, Georgia; his sister Irene (Antonio) Girolami of Padua, Italy.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Amnesty International, Feeding the Valley, Muscogee County Library Foundation or the Mario R. Mion scholarship fund at Columbus State University.