The family of Carol and Marty Marasco, like many others, is not unfamiliar with loss due to cancer. Their daughter, Marla Jo Marasco-Hoover, passed away at the age of 42 after a long battle with cancer in 2013. In October 2019, Marla’s eldest son, Zachary Hoover, lost his battle with cancer at the age of 20. Only 4 months later, Carol was taken at the young age of 73 in February 2020.

Prior to Carol’s death, she and Marty established a family foundation with the CPCF. Their hope was to memorialize the spirit of their first grandson, Zach. Those who were fortunate to know him, knew Zach to be an amazing young man. He was a 2017 graduate of Altoona Area High School and 2nd year student at Penn State Altoona. Zach’s major was electro-mechanical engineering technology (EMET).

Zach lost his leg, as a result of his cancer, and was fitted for a prosthetic. He was planning to use his disability as the focus of his senior project, aiming to improve the lives of other amputees. His hope was to design a state-of-the-art robotic prosthetic leg, as well as other devices. Tragically, Zach was unable to make his dream a reality.

The Marasco family established the Zachary S. Hoover Memorial Scholarship to be presented annually to a graduating Blair County high school student who is planning to attend PSU-Altoona and major in the EMET program. Zach always put others before himself. It is the family’s hope that this scholarship will forever memorialize Zach’s passion, dreams, and legacy of helping others.