DOWNEY –  Mario Magat, a husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle, died Oct. 6 after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer. 

He was born Oct. 17, 1927 in Havana, Cuba, where he completed school up to pre-med but was forced to stop his studies because of the revolution involving the Fidel Castro government. He had been working with his father on the side as a salesman. 

Mario emigrated to the United States in 1959 and met and married Gloria Miranda in 1960. He worked with his brother and father in a family-owned textile business in Downtown L.A. 

This Saturday would have been his 88th birthday. 

Mario is survived by his wife, Gloria; daughter, Gloria Lynn Bennett; son, David Bennett; grandson, Torrey Bennett; brother, Arthur Magat (Elena); two nieces and one nephew.