Americo Zarella

Americo W . Zarella , 100, of Melrose died on Monday January 7th at the Wilmington Health Care Center.

Born in Wakefield on July 2, 1912 he was the son of the late Horace A. and Margaret (Nutile) Zarella .

Mr. Zarella was raised and educated in Wakefield. He had been a Melrose resident since the late 1930's. Mr. Zarella was a retired custodian for the City of Melrose, working in the High School and the Roosevelt Elementary School. He had also worked at Macy's Drug Store in Belmont. Mr. Zarella was a World War II Army Veteran.

As a custodian, Bill was known as "Mr. Z" by the students and teachers. Mr. Z loved "his" kids as much as they loved him. He taught his kids how the simple things could be so important in life. Hundreds of his kids enjoyed his plants and produce from his garden. The Halloween pumpkin raffle was something the kids looked forward to every year. Mr. Z added an additional letter to the "ABC's" for his kids, the letter "L" for love.

He was the husband of the late Ruth B. (Powers) Zarella . He is survived by his two sons; William A. Zarella of East Boston and David K. Zarella and his wife Lillian of Melrose, his granddaughter Marcie Zarella of Melrose, his grandson Daniel Zarella and his wife Renee of Melrose and his sister Alice Williams of Halifax, MA. Mr. Zarella is also survived by his three great grandsons; Joseph, Matthew and Anthony. Mr. Zarella was predeceased by his sister Eva Zarella and his brothers Joseph Zarella , Fredrick Zarella , and Charles Zarella .

A funeral service will be held in the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Ave, Wakefield on Friday at 12 noon. Visitation for relatives and friends will be held at the Funeral Home prior to the service starting at 10am. Interment will be at Forest Glade Cemetery in Wakefield.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Melrose Permanent Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 760695, Melrose, MA 02176.

Read Americo Zarella's Obituary and Guestbook on www.mcdonaldfs.com.

Visitation

McDonald Funeral Home
19 Yale Ave.
Wakefield , MA US 01880
Friday, January 11, 2013, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Service

McDonald Funeral Home
19 Yale Ave.
Wakefield , MA US 01880
Friday, January 11, 2013, 12:00 PM

Cemetery

Forest Glade Cemetery
Lowell Street
Wakefield , MA US 01880
Friday, January 11, 2013, 1:00 PM