Alfred Gonnella

Alfred Gonnella
June 16, 1926 ~ January 10, 2011

Name: Alfred "AL" Gonnella
Life Dates: 6/16/1926 - 1/10/2011
City Of Birth: Solvay, NY
Pre-deceased by
Al was predeceased by his wife, Mary Gonnella.
History
Donations
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Greece Volunteer Ambulance Service, Inc., 867 Long Pond Road, Rochester, NY 14612 or
National MS Society Upstate New York Chapter, Donor Relations Center, 1650 South Ave. Suite 100, Rochester, NY 14620-3801 in Al's memory
Services
Friends may call Saturday 1-4:30 PM at the funeral home 1411 Vintage Lane (between Rte 390 Long Pond Rd). Al's funeral service will be celebrated following calling hours at 4:30, in the funeral home. Entombment in St. Mary's Cemetery in DeWitt, NY.
Additional Information
Biography for Alfred Gonnella
Alfred Gonnella was born on June 16, 1926 in Solvay, New York. He was the middle child of Italian immigrants Giovanni (John) and Giuseppina (Josephine Cifra) Gonnella. He and his siblings, Connie, Hank, Frannie, and John, shared a close relationship throughout their lives.
Al spent several years of his youth living on the Gonnella family farm in Camillus, New York with his grandmother Concetta. In 1944, at the age of 18, Al joined the United States Navy, where he served aboard the LST 935 as a Seaman First Class in the Pacific theater during World War II. He earned the nickname "Crash" Gonnella for his skills navigating small landing craft. He was discharged in 1946.
Al met Mary Netars of Oswego while working at Remington Rand in Syracuse. They married on June 21, 1947 and had three children - Judith (Judi), Deborah (Debbie), and Alfred (Al Jr.). In December 1950, they bought a home in Liverpool, where they lived their entire married life.
Al worked the second shift in machine set-up at the Fisher Body Division of General Motors in Syracuse for 38 years and was a member of the United Auto Workers. He retired in 1984.
Al was a long-time member of Camillus Sportsman Club where he enjoyed benchrest rifle shooting and small game hunting. He would spend hours in his basement workshop puttering around with his reloading equipment or crafting various items out of wood or metal. He was always one to pay attention to the smallest of details. In the summer, his garden, where he grew pole beans, tomatoes, zucchini and peppers, was his pride and joy. His basil and parsley plants had a reputation for their extraordinarily larger-than-normal size.
Al and Mary shared 44 years together as husband and wife until Mary passed away in November 1991. Al's strong faith in God helped him through the years without his dear wife. He looked forward to traveling on religious retreats in the spring and fall and church services on the weekend.
His family was an important part of his life. He loved his children and grandchildren immensely and often treated them to stories of his life on the farm, adventures in the Navy, and expeditions in his 1939 Packard. He valued the strong bond he had with his sisters, brothers, sisters-in-law, and their children.
In 2001, Al sold his home and moved to Rochester to be closer to his son and family. During the winters, he often traveled to Wichita Falls, Texas to spend time with his daughter Debbie and her family.
Al loved to listen to music, especially when performed by his grandchildren, and played the harmonica. Baseball was his favorite sport; he enjoyed watching it, no matter what team was playing.
He spent his later years reading his bible, as well as astronomy and science books and magazines. Although he battled multiple sclerosis (MS) for nearly four decades, Al lived independently until his final days.
Al is survived by his daughters Judi (Dave) Haynes and Debbie (Steve) Halloway, and son Al Jr. (Gina DiBella) Gonnella; four grandsons, Clinton (Amanda) Halloway, Steven Cuyler Halloway, Dan and Alec Gonnella; and three great-grandchildren, Elle Halloway, and Keith and Alyssa Moulton. He also leaves behind one brother John (Sandy) Gonnella, one sister-in-law Violet Potter, and several nieces and nephews.