‘Never about him’: Mario Favorito’s half-century of serving Acton

During the 56 years he lived in Acton, O. Mario Favorito faced a persistent issue. “I’ve had trouble saying ‘no’ when asked to do something for the town,” he said in 2024 when he was designated Acton’s Honored Citizen. “It’s a problem I have.”

The “problem” turned out to be a blessing for Acton, as Favorito, who died September 4 at age 88, served the community in multiple ways, including being a Acton Free Public Library trustee for over 25 years.

His first contribution to Acton was joining his wife, Corina, on the Bus Transportation Committee in the early 1970s, when most people had only one car per household.

He studied the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s rules to learn how the town could start its own bus service so residents could easily travel to stores, just as the Favoritos did when they were city dwellers. Ultimately, the committee found a way to offer free bus transportation by using the school buses three times a week during school hours.

Getting involved was par for the course for the Favoritos, who met in Washington, D.C., when Mario was working in the U.S. Navy’s general counsel office and Corina was at the Office of Education. “He talked a lot about the idea that in a town, you can make an impact,” said daughter Maria Favorito.

A self-proclaimed ‘backbencher’ 

In 1970, the Favoritos moved into what Corina called their “starter home” in West Acton. They had begun their family by then, and they needed a reasonable commute to Cambridge, where Mario worked for W.R. Grace.

The Brooklyn, New York, native soon found that he could help others have their voice heard in this less populous suburb. “He always thought that everyone should have a right to bring their point of view and their ideas to Town Meetings,” Maria said. “He was like a behind-the-scenes consultant on the drafting of articles, until just a couple of years ago.”

Being behind the scenes was Mario’s preference. 

“My style has always been to be what I describe as a ‘backbencher,’” he told The Bridge in 2024. “I’m not usually out front on things. I just do what’s good for the community and then just leave it at that.”

Favorito’s other contributions included coordinating transportation logistics with the Secret Service when then-President Gerald Ford visited for the bicentennial in 1975, and serving on the Planning Board (1975-81) and the Zoning Board of Appeals (1985-91).

Favorito often reminisced about the vaulted ceiling of his neighborhood library in Brooklyn and the New York Public Library’s Rose Reading Room, an inviting space where he worked on research papers, said Sherry Forman Litwack, a Acton library trustee since 2007.

She described Favorito as a mentor who instilled a selfless, team-oriented mentality in the board and a deep appreciation for the library’s staff and benefactors.

“It was never about him; it was always about the good of the organization and the work that was being done,” she said.

Favorito’s contributions as a trustee included serving as a vice president and treasurer of the board; working with town managers to update the private/public agreement between the town and the library; advising on legal issues affecting the library’s expansions, renovations, and loans of its artwork; and documenting the previous 50 years of the library’s history for the 2025 semiquincentennial.

A present, positive attitude

In high school, Favorito decided to become a lawyer. He majored in economics and philosophy at St. Francis College and earned his law degree at St. John’s University. He worked for a U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and then with the Navy in D.C. and United Aircraft in West Hartford, Connecticut.

He spent the rest of his career as a counsel at W.R. Grace, where he dealt mostly with mergers and acquisitions, his children said. 

“As much as he worked, as much [as] he traveled, he found time for us,” said daughter Laura Grace Favorito. She mentioned evening swims at White Pond and sailing in Narragansett Bay, where the Favoritos had the summer home where her father spent his final days.

When he wasn’t working at his day job or volunteering, Favorito was giving others legal advice, whether a relative needed input on a home purchase or his daughter had a new employment contract to review. “He could look at a contract and immediately figure out what you needed to know,” Laura said.

Helping others was a common theme the family heard during Favorito’s visiting hours. “So many people have told us, ‘He was a mentor to me as a person, not just in my career,’” Maria said.

Despite his often busy schedule, Favorito consistently took time to chat. 

“He never seemed like he was in a hurry,” Laura said. “I think that was one of the things that drew people to him — that he always seemed like he was ready to listen and open to saying hello.”