Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Gonnella, Peter 1971 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Sandy Heintzelman sheintz@iserv.net May 24, 2014, 10:34 pm Ionia Sentinel Standard, 2 Sep 1971 Man and Wife Found Dead Elderly Couple Found Dead – O. Gary Newton, Ionia county sheriff views the attractively landscaped home and garden where Mr. and Mrs. Peter Gonnella, both 76 years of age, were found dead of gunshot wounds about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The discovery at 1444 Bellevue drive was the result of concern by Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Ingvartsen of Kellogg road when they were unable to contact her parents earlier in the day. A son-in-law’s concern over not being able to contact his elderly father-in-law and wife, Wednesday, resulted in the 7:30 p.m. discovery of the double-shotgun deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Pietro Gonnella of 1444 Bellevue drive in South Ionia. Edwin Ingvartsen of 2022 Kellogg Rd., or his wife Violanda, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gonnella, had attempted to telephone her parents periodically through Wednesday but gave little thought to the failure believing the Gonnellas were away or possibly outside tending the well landscaped grounds and garden around the home. However when unable to contact the couple about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, Mr. Ingvartsen went to the county sheriff department and reported “something is not right.” He and Deputy Billy Spencer went to the house where the bodies of the couple were found. Mrs. Gonnella had been shot while in bed and he was discovered in a nearby hallway about ten feet from his wife’s room with a self-inflicted fatal chest wound according to O. Gary Newton, county sheriff. Mr. and Mrs. Gonnella were both 76 years of age. She was born February 2, 1895 and he was born April 17 the same year. The sheriff and his deputy, upon their discovery, requested officers from the state crime laboratory in Lansing be brought into the investigation. Sheriff Newton indicated an autopsy was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Authorities learned Mrs. Ingvartsen had talked with her mother at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. Everything appeared to be all right at the Gonnella home at that time. Consequently the county sheriff and Dale Kauffman, county coroner, assume the deaths occurred sometime after the telephone call, or possibly early the next morning before Mrs. Gonnella had risen for the day. None of the nearby neighbors heard the shots. The tiny home located near the foot of the hill leading northward out of Ionia has the appearance of being well cared for. Evidence of Mr. Gonnella’s interest in gardening is all around the home. Across the front of the more than 100 foot wide property runs a clear and fast running stream along the roadside. Along the banks of the brook are many flowering plants including lilies. In other areas are trees and shrubs mostly native to mid-Michigan. Flowerbeds also about the home have vegetables interspersed among them, indicating Mr. Gonnella’s conservative nature from his Italian background. When later notified of the death of both her mother and father, Mrs. Ingvartsen collapsed and was taken to Ionia County Memorial hospital for medical treatment for shock, according to Sheriff Newton. Mrs. Gonnella was born February 2, 1895, in Sweden. At the age of 18 she came to Ionia where she went to work for Fred W. Green and the Nichols families. She was married July 22, 1916, in Ionia to Peter Gonnella and they had been married 55 years. They lived at the present residence the past 15 years. Mr. Gonnella was born April 17, 1895, in Italy the son of Mr. and Mrs. Orenzo Gonnella. He left home at the age of 13 and was cabin boy in the British navy. He came to Ionia when 18. He was a retired Ionia businessman having owned a tavern and trailer sales. Surviving are a son, Armando of California; daughter, Mrs. Edwin Ingvartsen; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; Mrs. Gonnella’s survivors include a brother, Frank Kilgren of Elkhart, Ind. Funeral services for the Gonnellas will be Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Stone-Kauffman funeral home. Rev. Robert McComb will officiate and interment will be at Easton cemetery. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/obits/g/gonnella25079nob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/mifiles/ File size: 4.5 Kb