Joseph Paschal Isabella

Joseph Paschal Isabella, age 94, passed away early Christmas morning at Holy Family Hospice in Parma. Dearly beloved husband for 65 years to Angela M. Isabella (nee Costanzo, deceased), loving father of Joseph (Maria), Duane (Sharon Kugler), Ann (Gary) Reiter, Donald (Gabriella), Mary (Dennis) McCarthy, Christopher (Babe), and Andrea (Timothy) Schmidt, dearest grandfather of 24, great grandfather of 15, loving son of Anthony and Carrie (both deceased), dearest brother of Concetta Casaregola (Joseph, deceased) and Louis (deceased) (Florence), dear uncle and friend of many.

Mr. Isabella attended St. Colman elementary school. He then went on to St. Ignatius High School, and immediately into the Army after graduating in 1945, and was shipped off to Europe as W.W. II was winding down. When he came home he went to John Carroll University on the G.I. Bill and earned a bachelor’s degree, and then came back to help run the family business, Isabella Brothers Bakery. He married Angela Costanzo in 1952 and started a family shortly thereafter. (Listen to short audio clips of his voice from a Cleveland Historical story, “Isabella Brothers Bakery: The West Side’s Cathedral of Bakeries” (Dubelko): Delivering House to House, Mama and Papa Stores, and West 69th during the Great Depression.) After the bakery closed in 1987, Mr. Isabella worked for a number of years at the Cuyahoga County Treasurer, Taxpayer Liaison Department, until retiring in 2002.

Mr. Isabella was a life-long member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (West), actively participating in parish life. He was one of the original founders of the Villa Mercede, a nonprofit assisted-living complex located adjacent to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel parish school, and served on its board for over 30 years. He was a mainstay of the Detroit Shoreway/Gordon Square Arts District neighborhood, living on West 69th Street for the first 88 years of his life, until going to live with his daughter, Mary McCarthy and her family. As he told a reporter for La Gazzetta Italiana in July 2014: “I am so close to the neighborhood in Mt. Carmel. If it wasn’t for Mt. Carmel and the Detroit Shoreway, maybe I might be out of here” (Medina-Rivera).

VISITATION: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2021 from 8:30 to 9:30 AM, at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (West), 6928 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, 44102, immediately followed by a FUNERAL MASS at 9:30 AM. For the safety of all who worship at Catholic parishes the Diocese of Cleveland strongly encourages wearing of face masks while attending Mass indoors. The family will observe social distancing and wearing masks. Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery. In lieu of flowers family suggests memorial donations to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (West). Online condolences at www.craciunfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements under the direction of Craciun Berry Funeral Home, Cleveland, OH.

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Dubelko, J. (2010). Isabella Brothers Bakery: The West Side's Cathedral of Bakeries. Cleveland Historical. Retrieved 2021, from https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/729.

Medina-Rivera, A. (2014, July). “Il Vivo Spirito Italiano” in the Gordon Square Arts District Neighborhood. La Gazzetta Italiana.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.craciunberryfuneral.com for the Isabella family.