John Novello

January 3, 1954 to November 28, 2012

John passed away at Kaiser, Fremont. He is survived by his children, grandchildren, and wife. A Memorial Celebration of John's life will be held Friday, December 14th at Lima Family Santa Clara Mortuary, 466 N Winchester Blvd.

“Give me a problem and I’ll hand you a solution.” Those who knew John Novello would agree that that motto accurately described him. John was a man of great drive and a very original, independent thinker. For John, no challenge was impossible, and just about any desired result was within his grasp. John placed great trust in his intuition. Since that intuition generally led him in the right direction, who was he to doubt it.

He was the son of Vincenzo and Anna. His childhood found him in Sicilia until early teens, then San Jose California where he matured into the independent person he eventually became.

John grew up with three siblings. He had one younger brother, Joe, and two younger sisters, Antonella and Tonya. John could be seen as being stubborn by his siblings. It was important to him that he was perceived as “right” when it came to his part in those typical family spats. However, this quality did not over power his caring for his family. This ability to balance his family, with his need to be seen as right, helped him to develop into a young adult while enjoying many good times with his family.

During his grade school years, John was a very focused and serious student who actually enjoyed the challenge of many classroom problems. He was determined to succeed, and he drew upon his gifts of trust and perseverance to provide him with a competitive edge. While his first love might have been academics, John took part in soccer. John delighted in projects that required planning, critical thinking and resolution.

During high school, John was relentless in his pursuit of learning, especially in those subject areas that really grabbed hold of his interests. It wasn't that he didn't put forth his best efforts in all classes, but if a subject really interested him, he would eagerly put forth extra effort to learn all he could.

Pamela Ruiz Novello's sensitivity to John's needs proved to be a wonderful influence on this man, who preferred to live in his “gut.” Pamela Ruiz Novello's influence brought John to a new emotional level, one that eventually enhanced all of his other gifts and abilities. Pamela Ruiz Novello was able to help John appreciate the fact that others made contributions and John became better at interacting with those around him. Because of this, John grew as a person.

John often neglected his own feelings in order to give to others. This was very true when it came to how he dealt with his children. He was able to hand on to each child a number of strong values. He taught them to appreciate their abilities, gave them a desire to persevere despite obstacles and set within them a drive to succeed. He had two daughters and two stepdaughters, two daughters, Annmarie and Michele, and two stepdaughters, Michelle and Sabrina. He also had nine grandchildren, Joshua, Abigail, Kaitlyn, Daniel, Michael and Nathaniel Hoady and Marissa, Vanessa and Ray jr. Criado. They were always aware of how much John loved them.

During John's professional working years, he was at his best when working independently. It became the hallmark of his performance. John was generally able to refocus his drive and determination and readily work toward finding a way to get things done that was beneficial to himself and his co-workers. His primary occupation was Driver. He was employed for Specialty Solid Waste and Recycling .

For John, his outside interests and hobbies became another exercise in learning and mastering areas that interested him. He greatly enjoyed unraveling the "hows" and "whys" that lay behind his hobbies. John was always pushing himself to learn more and to stretch his knowledge base even further. He firmly believed that the more things that he knew the more control he would have over things. His favorite pursuits were gardening and cooking.

Watching his favorite sporting events by himself was never a problem for John. It allowed him to indulge in his own individual interpretation of the event. It was not uncommon for John to know what the right play or move “should have been,” and he would vocally address these feelings even if there was no one around to hear them. And if there were others around, he would still state his feelings and gladly debate anyone on their opposing views. Recreational sports included soccer. He enjoyed following his favorite sporting events. Tops on his list were all sports, mostly Raiders, A's, and soccer.

John was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of John's favorites was Dog, Bella. His family was rounded out by his dogs, Bella, Maximus, and Alexi.

When John's retirement finally came in 2010, he was ready. He worked out many of the details in advance so that he could enjoy the time and not have to worry. His new life involved relocating to Fremont, California. In retirement, he found new pleasure in spending more time in his garden.

John Novello was always drawn to what was measurable, practical and factual. He was a very competent person who expected competence from others. He could be headstrong and certain about the way things were supposed to be. He was determined in every aspect of his life and certain that he was usually right about things. He trusted his intuition over all else, even if it opposed the popular belief, and he had faith in his inner vision and speculations. He wanted to be acknowledged by others as having made a contribution to whatever he was working on. His family and friends will miss his fierce determination, relentless innovations and analytic mind. He leaves with all those who knew him many wonderful memories.