My Uncle Johnny was the fourth of the five children of Mike and Lena Badella, a first-generation American citizen born of Italian immigrant parents, and the last surviving member of his generation, reaching the rare and impressive age of 95 years.
Uncle Johnny was born and raised in Madera and lived his entire life there, with the exception of his time serving as a radioman in the Army Air Corps during World War II. As soon as Auntie Mae graduated from high school in 1942, telling only her grandmother where she was going, she got on a bus alone and traveled 2,000 miles to Belleville, Illinois, to marry him. Belleville being a small town, they drove 30 miles to St. Louis, Missouri, for the actual wedding ceremony. In addition to Scott Field in Belleville, Uncle Johnny was also stationed at Casper Field in Casper, Wyoming, where their son, Mickey, was born, and at March Field in Riverside, California. After the war, they returned home to Madera. After living with his parents for a while, they bought ten acres of land on Road 28-1/2, built a house, and planted 28 rows of Thompson seedless grapes.
In addition to growing raisin grapes, Uncle Johnny also worked at Noble’s Meat Company for 15 years in the ’50s and ’60s. I remember that they had the best hot dogs I had ever tasted.
I learned a lot of things from Uncle Johnny. My earliest memory of him is when I was maybe four or five years old. My parents and I were visiting, and he was working out in the vineyard when we arrived. I wanted to go out there to see him and to investigate this “grapevine” concept. I headed out there, dragging my doll along with me – in between the vines. That didn’t go over well. That was the day I learned that you NEVER walk THROUGH the vines. You always enter from the end of the row!
I stayed with my aunt and uncle for two weeks during the summer of 1970 when I was 11 years old. I couldn’t believe Uncle Johnny was outside working hard in that insufferable heat all day, every day, from sunrise to sunset. There was no relief from the heat, and there were no days off. That was the summer I learned that life on a farm was not for wimps!
Also during my stay that summer, the owner of Noble’s Meat Company had convinced Uncle Johnny to come back to work for him. He was 51 years old at the time. Uncle Johnny went to work there for one day and came home that evening aching and exhausted. He never went back. I learned that there are jobs that are even harder than farming!
I loved looking through my aunt and uncle’s high school yearbooks whenever I visited. I was fascinated by the old hairstyles and cars from the late ’30s and early ’40s. At some point during my adolescence, I decided that Uncle Johnny looked like Rock Hudson.
He was definitely a homebody. After his time in the service, he never flew on an airplane again. Despite living only a little over an hour’s drive from Yosemite National Park, I don’t believe he ever went there. And on the occasions when they would visit relatives who lived in the Bay Area, I can’t remember a time when he and Auntie Mae ever spent the night. I think they always returned to Madera the same day.
Uncle Johnny always had a sign out front advertising that he had tomatoes and onions for sale. He had a steady stream of customers. I can’t remember a single time when I was visiting – EVER – when there wasn’t at least one customer who drove up wanting to buy some.
As an adult, I made a point of visiting whenever I was in the area. It was always fun to sit and reminisce about old times. A couple of years ago, I asked Uncle Johnny to tell me about how he and Auntie Mae had met, which he did in great detail. He was as sharp as a tack right up until the end.
And what a legacy he leaves. Even starting with just one child, look how his family has grown exponentially – two grandchildren, NINE great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren SO FAR.
He and Auntie Mae were married for 58 years. She passed away in the year 2000. A day never went by that he didn’t think of her and miss her. They were the most perfectly matched couple that I’ve ever known. He lived a long and good life, and after 14 years apart, he is with Auntie Mae again.
***
John Badella passed away on Thursday, August 28, 2014, at the age of 95. He was a lifelong resident of Madera, and a graduate of Madera High class of 1937. He was a veteran of WWII, serving his country in the U.S. Army Air Corps. John worked at Nobles Meat Company for 15 years. Farming most of his life, and running a vegetable stand, John was known for his great tasting tomatoes and onions.
He was preceded in death by his wife Mae Marie Badella in August of 2000; his siblings, Rose, Lidio, Elsie and Albert. John is survived by son, Mike Badella and his wife Molly, his grandson Mike Badella Jr., his granddaughter, Michelle Gonzalez, nine great grandchildren and two great great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 from 2:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Jay Chapel, Madera.
Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, September 4, at 10:00 A.M. at The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Madera.
Interment to follow at: Calvary Mausoleum Cemetery, Madera.
Published in the Madera Tribune on Saturday, August 30, 2014.
Uncle Johnny was born and raised in Madera and lived his entire life there, with the exception of his time serving as a radioman in the Army Air Corps during World War II. As soon as Auntie Mae graduated from high school in 1942, telling only her grandmother where she was going, she got on a bus alone and traveled 2,000 miles to Belleville, Illinois, to marry him. Belleville being a small town, they drove 30 miles to St. Louis, Missouri, for the actual wedding ceremony. In addition to Scott Field in Belleville, Uncle Johnny was also stationed at Casper Field in Casper, Wyoming, where their son, Mickey, was born, and at March Field in Riverside, California. After the war, they returned home to Madera. After living with his parents for a while, they bought ten acres of land on Road 28-1/2, built a house, and planted 28 rows of Thompson seedless grapes.
In addition to growing raisin grapes, Uncle Johnny also worked at Noble’s Meat Company for 15 years in the ’50s and ’60s. I remember that they had the best hot dogs I had ever tasted.
I learned a lot of things from Uncle Johnny. My earliest memory of him is when I was maybe four or five years old. My parents and I were visiting, and he was working out in the vineyard when we arrived. I wanted to go out there to see him and to investigate this “grapevine” concept. I headed out there, dragging my doll along with me – in between the vines. That didn’t go over well. That was the day I learned that you NEVER walk THROUGH the vines. You always enter from the end of the row!
I stayed with my aunt and uncle for two weeks during the summer of 1970 when I was 11 years old. I couldn’t believe Uncle Johnny was outside working hard in that insufferable heat all day, every day, from sunrise to sunset. There was no relief from the heat, and there were no days off. That was the summer I learned that life on a farm was not for wimps!
Also during my stay that summer, the owner of Noble’s Meat Company had convinced Uncle Johnny to come back to work for him. He was 51 years old at the time. Uncle Johnny went to work there for one day and came home that evening aching and exhausted. He never went back. I learned that there are jobs that are even harder than farming!
I loved looking through my aunt and uncle’s high school yearbooks whenever I visited. I was fascinated by the old hairstyles and cars from the late ’30s and early ’40s. At some point during my adolescence, I decided that Uncle Johnny looked like Rock Hudson.
He was definitely a homebody. After his time in the service, he never flew on an airplane again. Despite living only a little over an hour’s drive from Yosemite National Park, I don’t believe he ever went there. And on the occasions when they would visit relatives who lived in the Bay Area, I can’t remember a time when he and Auntie Mae ever spent the night. I think they always returned to Madera the same day.
Uncle Johnny always had a sign out front advertising that he had tomatoes and onions for sale. He had a steady stream of customers. I can’t remember a single time when I was visiting – EVER – when there wasn’t at least one customer who drove up wanting to buy some.
As an adult, I made a point of visiting whenever I was in the area. It was always fun to sit and reminisce about old times. A couple of years ago, I asked Uncle Johnny to tell me about how he and Auntie Mae had met, which he did in great detail. He was as sharp as a tack right up until the end.
And what a legacy he leaves. Even starting with just one child, look how his family has grown exponentially – two grandchildren, NINE great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren SO FAR.
He and Auntie Mae were married for 58 years. She passed away in the year 2000. A day never went by that he didn’t think of her and miss her. They were the most perfectly matched couple that I’ve ever known. He lived a long and good life, and after 14 years apart, he is with Auntie Mae again.
***
John Badella passed away on Thursday, August 28, 2014, at the age of 95. He was a lifelong resident of Madera, and a graduate of Madera High class of 1937. He was a veteran of WWII, serving his country in the U.S. Army Air Corps. John worked at Nobles Meat Company for 15 years. Farming most of his life, and running a vegetable stand, John was known for his great tasting tomatoes and onions.
He was preceded in death by his wife Mae Marie Badella in August of 2000; his siblings, Rose, Lidio, Elsie and Albert. John is survived by son, Mike Badella and his wife Molly, his grandson Mike Badella Jr., his granddaughter, Michelle Gonzalez, nine great grandchildren and two great great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 from 2:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Jay Chapel, Madera.
Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, September 4, at 10:00 A.M. at The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Madera.
Interment to follow at: Calvary Mausoleum Cemetery, Madera.
Published in the Madera Tribune on Saturday, August 30, 2014.
My Uncle Johnny was the fourth of the five children of Mike and Lena Badella, a first-generation American citizen born of Italian immigrant parents, and the last surviving member of his generation, reaching the rare and impressive age of 95 years.
Uncle Johnny was born and raised in Madera and lived his entire life there, with the exception of his time serving as a radioman in the Army Air Corps during World War II. As soon as Auntie Mae graduated from high school in 1942, telling only her grandmother where she was going, she got on a bus alone and traveled 2,000 miles to Belleville, Illinois, to marry him. Belleville being a small town, they drove 30 miles to St. Louis, Missouri, for the actual wedding ceremony. In addition to Scott Field in Belleville, Uncle Johnny was also stationed at Casper Field in Casper, Wyoming, where their son, Mickey, was born, and at March Field in Riverside, California. After the war, they returned home to Madera. After living with his parents for a while, they bought ten acres of land on Road 28-1/2, built a house, and planted 28 rows of Thompson seedless grapes.
In addition to growing raisin grapes, Uncle Johnny also worked at Noble’s Meat Company for 15 years in the ’50s and ’60s. I remember that they had the best hot dogs I had ever tasted.
I learned a lot of things from Uncle Johnny. My earliest memory of him is when I was maybe four or five years old. My parents and I were visiting, and he was working out in the vineyard when we arrived. I wanted to go out there to see him and to investigate this “grapevine” concept. I headed out there, dragging my doll along with me – in between the vines. That didn’t go over well. That was the day I learned that you NEVER walk THROUGH the vines. You always enter from the end of the row!
I stayed with my aunt and uncle for two weeks during the summer of 1970 when I was 11 years old. I couldn’t believe Uncle Johnny was outside working hard in that insufferable heat all day, every day, from sunrise to sunset. There was no relief from the heat, and there were no days off. That was the summer I learned that life on a farm was not for wimps!
Also during my stay that summer, the owner of Noble’s Meat Company had convinced Uncle Johnny to come back to work for him. He was 51 years old at the time. Uncle Johnny went to work there for one day and came home that evening aching and exhausted. He never went back. I learned that there are jobs that are even harder than farming!
I loved looking through my aunt and uncle’s high school yearbooks whenever I visited. I was fascinated by the old hairstyles and cars from the late ’30s and early ’40s. At some point during my adolescence, I decided that Uncle Johnny looked like Rock Hudson.
He was definitely a homebody. After his time in the service, he never flew on an airplane again. Despite living only a little over an hour’s drive from Yosemite National Park, I don’t believe he ever went there. And on the occasions when they would visit relatives who lived in the Bay Area, I can’t remember a time when he and Auntie Mae ever spent the night. I think they always returned to Madera the same day.
Uncle Johnny always had a sign out front advertising that he had tomatoes and onions for sale. He had a steady stream of customers. I can’t remember a single time when I was visiting – EVER – when there wasn’t at least one customer who drove up wanting to buy some.
As an adult, I made a point of visiting whenever I was in the area. It was always fun to sit and reminisce about old times. A couple of years ago, I asked Uncle Johnny to tell me about how he and Auntie Mae had met, which he did in great detail. He was as sharp as a tack right up until the end.
And what a legacy he leaves. Even starting with just one child, look how his family has grown exponentially – two grandchildren, NINE great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren SO FAR.
He and Auntie Mae were married for 58 years. She passed away in the year 2000. A day never went by that he didn’t think of her and miss her. They were the most perfectly matched couple that I’ve ever known. He lived a long and good life, and after 14 years apart, he is with Auntie Mae again.
***
John Badella passed away on Thursday, August 28, 2014, at the age of 95. He was a lifelong resident of Madera, and a graduate of Madera High class of 1937. He was a veteran of WWII, serving his country in the U.S. Army Air Corps. John worked at Nobles Meat Company for 15 years. Farming most of his life, and running a vegetable stand, John was known for his great tasting tomatoes and onions.
He was preceded in death by his wife Mae Marie Badella in August of 2000; his siblings, Rose, Lidio, Elsie and Albert. John is survived by son, Mike Badella and his wife Molly, his grandson Mike Badella Jr., his granddaughter, Michelle Gonzalez, nine great grandchildren and two great great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 from 2:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Jay Chapel, Madera.
Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, September 4, at 10:00 A.M. at The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Madera.
Interment to follow at: Calvary Mausoleum Cemetery, Madera.
Published in the Madera Tribune on Saturday, August 30, 2014.
Uncle Johnny was born and raised in Madera and lived his entire life there, with the exception of his time serving as a radioman in the Army Air Corps during World War II. As soon as Auntie Mae graduated from high school in 1942, telling only her grandmother where she was going, she got on a bus alone and traveled 2,000 miles to Belleville, Illinois, to marry him. Belleville being a small town, they drove 30 miles to St. Louis, Missouri, for the actual wedding ceremony. In addition to Scott Field in Belleville, Uncle Johnny was also stationed at Casper Field in Casper, Wyoming, where their son, Mickey, was born, and at March Field in Riverside, California. After the war, they returned home to Madera. After living with his parents for a while, they bought ten acres of land on Road 28-1/2, built a house, and planted 28 rows of Thompson seedless grapes.
In addition to growing raisin grapes, Uncle Johnny also worked at Noble’s Meat Company for 15 years in the ’50s and ’60s. I remember that they had the best hot dogs I had ever tasted.
I learned a lot of things from Uncle Johnny. My earliest memory of him is when I was maybe four or five years old. My parents and I were visiting, and he was working out in the vineyard when we arrived. I wanted to go out there to see him and to investigate this “grapevine” concept. I headed out there, dragging my doll along with me – in between the vines. That didn’t go over well. That was the day I learned that you NEVER walk THROUGH the vines. You always enter from the end of the row!
I stayed with my aunt and uncle for two weeks during the summer of 1970 when I was 11 years old. I couldn’t believe Uncle Johnny was outside working hard in that insufferable heat all day, every day, from sunrise to sunset. There was no relief from the heat, and there were no days off. That was the summer I learned that life on a farm was not for wimps!
Also during my stay that summer, the owner of Noble’s Meat Company had convinced Uncle Johnny to come back to work for him. He was 51 years old at the time. Uncle Johnny went to work there for one day and came home that evening aching and exhausted. He never went back. I learned that there are jobs that are even harder than farming!
I loved looking through my aunt and uncle’s high school yearbooks whenever I visited. I was fascinated by the old hairstyles and cars from the late ’30s and early ’40s. At some point during my adolescence, I decided that Uncle Johnny looked like Rock Hudson.
He was definitely a homebody. After his time in the service, he never flew on an airplane again. Despite living only a little over an hour’s drive from Yosemite National Park, I don’t believe he ever went there. And on the occasions when they would visit relatives who lived in the Bay Area, I can’t remember a time when he and Auntie Mae ever spent the night. I think they always returned to Madera the same day.
Uncle Johnny always had a sign out front advertising that he had tomatoes and onions for sale. He had a steady stream of customers. I can’t remember a single time when I was visiting – EVER – when there wasn’t at least one customer who drove up wanting to buy some.
As an adult, I made a point of visiting whenever I was in the area. It was always fun to sit and reminisce about old times. A couple of years ago, I asked Uncle Johnny to tell me about how he and Auntie Mae had met, which he did in great detail. He was as sharp as a tack right up until the end.
And what a legacy he leaves. Even starting with just one child, look how his family has grown exponentially – two grandchildren, NINE great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren SO FAR.
He and Auntie Mae were married for 58 years. She passed away in the year 2000. A day never went by that he didn’t think of her and miss her. They were the most perfectly matched couple that I’ve ever known. He lived a long and good life, and after 14 years apart, he is with Auntie Mae again.
***
John Badella passed away on Thursday, August 28, 2014, at the age of 95. He was a lifelong resident of Madera, and a graduate of Madera High class of 1937. He was a veteran of WWII, serving his country in the U.S. Army Air Corps. John worked at Nobles Meat Company for 15 years. Farming most of his life, and running a vegetable stand, John was known for his great tasting tomatoes and onions.
He was preceded in death by his wife Mae Marie Badella in August of 2000; his siblings, Rose, Lidio, Elsie and Albert. John is survived by son, Mike Badella and his wife Molly, his grandson Mike Badella Jr., his granddaughter, Michelle Gonzalez, nine great grandchildren and two great great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 3, 2014 from 2:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Jay Chapel, Madera.
Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, September 4, at 10:00 A.M. at The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Madera.
Interment to follow at: Calvary Mausoleum Cemetery, Madera.
Published in the Madera Tribune on Saturday, August 30, 2014.
