John Edward Petrella's Obituary
John Edward Petrella was born on June 5, 1933 in Connellsville, Pennsylvania to his loving parents Frank Petrella and Lucille Rose Petrella (Marnell).
John is preceded in death by his daughter Lynn Ann Gaetano (Petrella), his brother Frank Petrella and his wife Eleanor Petrella (McGinley), his sister-in-law Rita Mae LaFianza (Annello) and her husband Howard H. LaFianza and his great grandson Easton Jay Reed.
John is survived by his wife Mary Ann Petrella (Annello), his son John Petrella and his wife Kim Marcus, his daughter Jacquelyn Bauer (Petrella) and her husband Doug Bauer. His grand children Micheal Petrella, Jacquelyn Bissinger (Petrella), Claire Morley (Bauer), Grace Bowen (Bauer), Emma Reed (Bauer), Dominick Gaetano, Marcus Gaetano, his great granddaughter Emersyn Morley, his niece Elizabeth O'Rorke (LaFianza) her husband Michael O'Rorke and their daughter Teresa O'Rorke, his nephew James LaFianza and his wife Karen Seitz-LaFianza and his son-in-law Rick Gaetano.
John graduated Clairton High School in 1950. Upon graduation he enlisted in the United States Air Force on January 11, 1952. He served as a radio operator technician and was deployed on active duty to multiple overseas theaters during and after the Korean War. John was Honorably discharged on January 12, 1956 having obtained the rank of Airman First Class E-3.
Following his military service, John married his beautiful bride on May 16, 1959. Also, he was extremely proud of his career with Bettis (Westinghouse) Atomic Power Laboratory. During his career he worked as a technician on the development of nuclear power for the United States Navy and later served as a computer technician on the Cray-2 Supercomputer. John retired from his fulfilling profession and dedicated service to his country in January of 1993.
He was a faithful parishioner of the St Germaine, Our Lady of Hope Parish Catholic Church from 1960 to his passing.
He enjoyed spending time with his grand children and finding fulfillment in his hobbies such as fishing, camping and golf. One of John's beloved activities was his daily gathering with friends from various vocations and walks of life, during which they enjoyed many spirited conversations over coffee.
The family holds in their hearts the deepest appreciation and gratitude for John's loving and faithful care givers over his last few years, Donna Barone and Rose Fayo.
Friends and family will be received from 1-3pm, 5-7pm on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home, Inc., 301 Curry Hollow Road, Pleasant Hills, PA, 15236.
A Blessing Service will be held at 7pm on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in the funeral home chapel.
Inurnment will be handled by the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project at https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ or the Tunnel to Towers Foundation at https://t2t.org/.
Online condolences can be made at jeffersonmemorial.com.
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