U.S. Army veteran, state inspector for Big Dig
Published in the March 4, 2016 edition
PEABODY — Guy V. Colella of Brooksby Village, Peabody, and a former resident of Malden and Wakefield, passed away peacefully on Feb. 26, 2016 at the age of 87 in hospice care following a brief illness. He leaves his wife, Clair, after 63 wonderful years of marriage, and his close and loving family.
Guy was born in Boston in 1928. He graduated from Malden High School with the Class of 1947. A veteran of World War II, he served with the U.S. Army during the post war occupation of Japan and was honorably discharged in 1948. Guy married his high school sweetheart, Clair Hosford, in 1952. They lived in Fort Wayne, Ind. during his senior year at the Indiana Institute of Technology, where he earned his bachelor of science degree in Civil Engineering in 1953.
The couple returned to Massachusetts and they settled in Malden, raising five children. During this period, he held positions in Public Works as Assistant Superintendent for the town of Lexington and as Superintendent for the town of Burlington. Later, in the private sector, he was a representative for Dresser Manufacturing Corp., and finally he served as a state inspector during Big Dig operations for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was a Past Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Council 105.
Following his retirement, Guy enjoyed a full life of activities and interests including world travels with his wife, enjoying the visits of his grandchildren, his lifelong love of singing and guitar playing, fishing, poker, cribbage, cooking and the Patriots. He enjoyed the company of his many friends in the Brooksby Village community, where he enjoyed being a member of the winning trivia team.
Guy is survived by his wife, Clair (Hosford) Colella. He is also survived by his five children, Scott Colella of Wakefield; Barry Colella of Chelmsford; Marlene Levesque of Tewksbury; Wayne Colella of Somerville; Joanne Boag of Woburn, and their respective spouses. He also leaves nine grandchildren, Merry, Amanda, Devon, Caitlyn, Jason, Clair, Ethan, Jaimee and Tess. He also leaves two sisters, Olympia McConnell of Hudson and Laura MacMullin of Winchester, and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Visitation was held at the Gately Funeral Home, 79 West Foster St., Melrose on Monday, Feb. 29. His funeral from the Gately Funeral Home took place on Tuesday, March 1 at 8:45 a.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Joseph Church, 173 Albion St., Wakefield. Burial took place in Lakeside Cemetery, Wakefield. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018 or through their website support.pdf.org.
