For couple slain in cemetery, visiting son’s grave was a daily ritual

ELKTON — U.S. Army veteran Paul Marino and his wife, Lidia, visited the grave of their son, Anthony, at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Bear, Del., almost every day for the past three years.

“It was like a regimen. Mom and Dad visited my brother’s grave every single day, without fail, unless there was inclement weather. They usually went there in the morning,” the couple’s son, Ray Marino, 60, of Elkton, said Wednesday.

The daily graveside visits served as a touchstone for the elderly Elkton couple – each day was another opportunity to express how deeply they loved Anthony and how heartbreakingly they missed him.

The couple would stand at the grave for 10 minutes or so. Sometimes they left fresh flowers; other times, they simply talked to their deceased son. “Hey, Anthony, Mom and Dad are here,” they would say.

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