12/28/2025
Obituary for Mario Joseph Natale Lento
Mario Joseph Natale Lento, 86 of Nashua, NH, passed away peacefully on December 10, 2025, at 7:10 PM in Merrimack, NH.
Mario was born on December 20, 1938, in Chelsea, Massachusetts, to Joseph and Sara (Magno) Lento. He grew up in Chelsea and went on to earn an associate’s degree in electronics.
Admiring how his dad (our Nonno) fought for the Allied Powers and later immigrated to the US to stay on our side, Mario joined the National Guard leaving with an honorable discharge. He later began his career in electronics, focusing on rocket science and other high-tech assemblies used in advanced guidance systems used in the Apollo missions. He was known for his ability to articulate complex subjects and instructions, which led to his work as a senior technical writer. A lifelong enthusiast of technology, Mario was an early adopter of mainframe computers, using them to develop graphic designs that brought a new level of clarity and value to his technical writing while many of his peers were still using typewriters.
Perhaps the best thing about Mario was his good taste—marrying two wonderful women during his life, Camille Gallo and Patricia Hart, who brought Michael Lento, Mario Lento (“Little Mario”), and Stephen Hart into this world, and through whom he was also blessed with stepchildren Charles Roberts, Colleen Nigzus, Christian Roberts, and Rachel Thibodeau, and granddaughter Olivia Hart. He is survived by his sister, Catherine Torra. He was preceded in death by his beloved hero brother, Joe Lento, and sisters Connie Lento and Anna Freehling.
Mario will be remembered for his volunteer work at Children’s Hospital, where he helped nurture and bring joy & hope to very special young people. He loved the military, especially fighter jets, aircraft carriers, and anything related to outer space. His talents included drawing, illustrating, painting, and tinkering to fix almost anything, no matter how complex. He taught nine-year-old “Little” Mario what an atom was and how electrons move through copper wire. Mario also loved cars and drove with purpose; his two MGBs and his first-generation Cadillac XLR, often driven on track, brought him immense joy.
Mario was never shy in front of a crowd: singing, dancing, strutting, and even accepting the occasional article of clothing tossed onto his stage. He lived life fully –hard, joyful, and always the life of the party.
A time of visitation were held on December 16th from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Dumont-Sullivan Funeral Home, 50 Ferry Street, Hudson, NH 03051. Burial will be private.
On behalf of our dad, we would like to thank Pat and Tim Doxzon, Camille, Danielle, Nancy, and our friends and family for their nurturing support until the end. Pat especially gave selflessly of her time and made life more tolerable during Mario’s health battles over the past few years.
