James Vincent Cardella

James Vincent Cardella was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, in 1935. His parents, Antonietta (Raiti) and Vito Cardella immigrated to the USA from Sicily in 1920 with a handsome sum of $35.00. Jim was born at home and the family moved to Detroit when he was 10 years old. He graduated from Cooley High School. Jim did not spend a single night in the hospital until he was 83 years old. He passed away peacefully on December 15th, 2023, after almost six years of dialysis. He was the last surviving of his three older siblings, Anna (Mustazza), Philip, and Nicolena (Kelcheski). He was married to his first wife, Carolyn (Roberts) Cardella for 25 years. He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Alice Pierle (Schlegel) Cardella; his sons Dean (Nicole) and Vincent Cardella; his stepsons Dave and Matt Pierle; his grandkids Drew, Nora, Colin, Nicholas, Benjamin, Noah Cardella, and Grace and Carter Pierle, along with more nieces, nephews, and friends than can be listed. Jim “Super Wrench” Cardella was a master mechanic, who worked 30 years in the Glass House at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan as well as many evenings in his home garage fixing the cars of family members and friends for pennies on the dollar. He built two homes from the ground up. He took his love for airplanes and flying from building balsa wood model airplanes to becoming a licensed private pilot. He was a car guy that could spot a bad paint job from 100 yards away in the dark. He installed a record player in the glove box of his red ‘54 Olds convertible. Papa also loved motorcycles and music. He continued to ride his Harley-Davidson Sportster at the age of eighty-seven years old. He loved songs that told stories. He could recognize songs within a couple notes and he could hear a song once and whistle the tune. He was a Detroit Tigers Fan, thru the good, the bad and the ugly Jim had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to indulge in bad puns. He was a man of ritual and routine. He loved his favorite restaurants and always ordered the same thing from each of them, never deviating. He almost always paid in cash and avoided debt and credit cards whenever possible. Jim was not a huge fan of travel, but he did enjoy it when he went. He was able to travel to Sicily three times and see the remains of his mom’s family home in Buseto Palizzolo, Trapani. Jim was a Veteran of the United States Army and in 2021 he was able to travel to Washington DC as part of the Talons Out Honor Flight with his oldest son, Dean. He loved dogs, especially his deceased German Shepherds, Rainey and Chara. Jim was in some sense a dichotomy. What kind of Italian doesn’t like garlic or pasta? Jim definitely knew what he liked and what he didn’t like. He was a humble man with an insurmountable amount of talent. He was a Christian by his actions. Jim was a father, husband, brother, uncle, grandfather, Papa, and friend to many. He was very proud of his family and loved them more than anything. There will be a visitation at 11AM followed by a service at noon with fellowship and light food afterwards on Saturday, December 30th, at Novi United Methodist Church (41671 W 10 Mile Rd, Novi, MI 48375). In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to Peace, Love, and Paws Rescue (https://peaceloveandpawsrescue.com/donate).

James Vincent Cardella

December 15, 2023