Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Gazella, Charles Hugh January 1, 2017
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Maureen Cross mcross3454@gmail.com December 10, 2020, 1:59 pm

Ionia Sentinel Standard   January 5, 2017
CHARLES HUGH GAZLLA
   Charles H. Gazella, 88, died on Sunday in Toledo, OH, after a period of
deteriorating health.  A memorial service will be held in the spring in Ionia.
   Chuck was born to Francis and Mildred Gazella in Ionia, MI, the fourth of 12
children who were part of a large flock of kids in the Baldie Street neighborhood 
before the Gazella clan moved to Main Street.  He graduated from St. Peter and 
Paul Catholic School where he served as an altar boy in church.  As an adult he 
often served as an usher in various Catholic churches.  He was on the high school
basketball team and earned his lifelong nickname "Doc" by carrying the team's medical 
bag.  He also helped his father in their grocery store downtown, delivering 
groceries and supplies.  He became a fixture at the Ionia Free Fair, working at 
Gazella Fine Foods, a food stand started by his father in the 1930's and carried 
on by his brother Jim, and nephews.  Chuck even went on the road, traveling the 
fair circuit in the southeast with his nephews, and enjoyed meeting crowds of people.
  He served in the U.S. air Force after high school and was based in Tripoli during
the Korean conflict.  He later lived in Lansing and retired from the Michigan 
Department of Transportation before making his home in Toledo.  Chuck never met a 
stranger, and loved helping others.  He served as a volunteer at St. Ann's Hospital 
for years greeting visitors and escorting patients.  He was well known for his
constant smile, sense of humor and kind, gentle nature.  He was never without a 
camera, and produced many home movies when his children were young.
   He is survived by his wife, Elaine, of Toledo, OH; daughters Beth Gazella of
Kailua, HI, and Kim Gazella of Raleigh, NC; stepdaughters Karen Huxford and Amy 
Bartkiewicz, both of Toledo, Gail (Fernando) Crotte of Winston-Salem, NC, and stepson, 
Toss Bryan, of Lansing, MI, as well as eight grandchildren and six great-
grandchildren.  He also is survived by sisters Louise (John) Sweet of Battle Creek,
MI, Rose Mary Gazella of Kalamazoo, MI, Margaret Bonham of Macomb, MI, and Janet 
Gazella and Mary Jane Gazella, both of Grand Rapids, MI, and numerous cousins, nieces 
and nephews.
   He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, James, Richard and Carl,
sisters Catherine, Janice and infant Josephine, and great-grandson, Owen Lucio.
   Memorials may be made to a charity of your choice.

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