Joseph Lawrence Sella

Joseph Lawrence Sella, age 86, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones on January 10, 2022 after a brief struggle with cancer. He was born in Grand Rapids, MI on September 21, 1935 to Salvatore and Anna (Lomonaco) Sella.

How can one sum up the life of such a great guy in such a small amount of space?

Joe was a beautiful, gregarious man. Everybody loved his sense of humor and his thoughtfulness. Many sought his counsel. His passionate vehemence for his beliefs and opinions is renowned.

Joe was deeply spiritual and held a strong faith in God and in the teachings of the Bible and the Catholic Church, so much so, that he entered the seminary and studied to be a priest for eight years. Throughout his life, he would sit for hours, pouring over his Bible and writing his thoughts in the margins. Often, the sage advice he would give was based on the teachings of scripture.

Joe attended St. Joseph Elementary School and St. Joseph Seminary in Grand Rapids, graduated from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, and attended Aquinas College in Grand Rapids.

After studying to be a priest for eight years, and luckily for his first wife Mary, his second wife Cecilia, and his future children, he had to break it to his mama that he liked girls too much to become a priest.

After leaving the Seminary, Joe followed in the footsteps of his three older brothers and entered the Army in 1958 and served until 1960. That time of his life was indelibly imprinted on his mind and he enjoyed swapping tales about military life with his brothers and brothers-in-law. His children became fully aware of his affection for that time when he would wake them from deep sleep with, “Oh how I hate to get up in the morning. Oh, how I hate to get up at all! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up! It’s time to get up in the morning,”

Joe was hard-working and dedicated—throwing himself into doing the best job he could in order to help people in his decades long career with the Social Security Administration and The Office of Hearings and Appeals. He was understanding and empathetic and would spend hours with people assisting them with paperwork.

Dad was short in stature but big in personality. He would often say, with a twinkle in his eye, “I may be short, but people look up to me.”

He was steadfast in his quest for fairness; his conclusion is legendary. Whenever any of us children would say, “That’s not fair!” He would say—sometimes with emphasis, sometimes with resignation—“Life is not fair.” How could we argue? He always saw both sides to any argument but he loved a good debate and would defend his position for hours. In the end, he’d often say, “I don’t know, maybe you’re right.”

He loved spending time with family—his wives, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and cousins—everybody. He was Cecilia’s constant companion, looking after her and experiencing everything with her.

He enjoyed spending time at the Kolarik Family Farm in Leelanau County with family, cooking fishing, hunting, picking and shaking cherries. He was also known to "run into town" often.

Joe loved the arts—theater, film, music, and literature. In his retirement he pursued his artistic passion and was a prolific painter. He really enjoyed watching old black and white movies. He loved to travel with Cecilia. They went to the symphony with friends for decades. He loved cooking and baking for friends and family. He loved a perfect dirty gin martini. His favorite pass-time was cooking, baking, and eating delicious food. He would come home and try to emulate the dishes he found most delicious and he succeeded. He passed down his most-loved Sicilian recipes to everyone—scribbling down the ingredients and directions in his illegible handwriting—a little salt and pepper, a little garlic, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. He would give us cooking and baking lessons and at the end, he’d dip his little finger in the "sugu" and say, “and a little bit of sugar,” and give us that knowing smile and say, “Because I’m so sweet.”

His bread and pizza were THE BEST! Anyone who partook of them would enjoy and want more. He gave them away freely and with love.

Once, when he expressed what he wanted to be remembered for, he said, “I am a bread maker. I take simple ingredients and mix them together and create the food that will give us life.”

He leaves behind so many people who love him so much. His heart was so big and we will remember him and carry him in our hearts forever.

Joseph is survived by his loving wife of 48 years Cecilia (Kolarik) Sella, his children: Tom Sella, Mary (Chuck Jeary) Sella, Phil (Theresa) Sella, Cathy Sella Duley, Andrew (Sarah) Sella; 8 grandchildren; 5 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife Mary; his siblings Mary, Quentin, Anthony, Antoinette, and Sam. He is survived by his sister-in-law Katie Sella.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, January 15, 2022 beginning at 11:00 AM (Masks will be required) at Blessed Sacrament Parish (2275 Diamond Ave NE, Grand Rapids, Michigan). Please join our family for visitation one hour prior to the service at Church. Interment in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to The American Diabetes Association or Habitat for Humanity.