Norman Robert Vella
Devoted father, husband and son; true friend; proud grandfather. Born Jan. 12, 1940, in Gzira, Malta. Died July 17, 2011, in Bowmanville, Ont., of cancer, aged 71.
Everyone loved Norm Vella. He was a smart man with a joy for life, quick to laugh but slow to criticize. He liked a good joke almost as much as a bad one. Family was his first love but he also enjoyed sports – especially hockey – travelling, woodworking, math, music, dancing and anything to do with food.
There are decks and furniture scattered all over the Greater Toronto Area made by Norm. He never turned down a request to help someone swing a hammer on a DIY project. It would be hard to guess which he preferred more – the camaraderie or the woodworking.
Norm grew up in Sliema, Malta. He excelled at an incredibly competitive four-year system while apprenticing at the dockyards. There were 200 students his first year and the lower half of the class was eliminated each year, yet Norm was in the top five of the remaining 25 students.
Part of his apprenticeship was spent learning to fine-tune gyroscopes on submarines. The apprentices were only allowed in the vessels when they were in port. Norm longed to accompany the accredited experts as they conducted tests in a submerged submarine, so one day he hid in a torpedo tube, revealing his presence only when they were well under water. Because he was a top apprentice, he was forgiven his disobedience.
Norm immigrated to Canada in 1959 with $125 in his pocket and three tailor-made suits. Although proud of his Maltese heritage, he was eager to assimilate into his new homeland. Realizing that the clothing was cut differently here, he gave away his Maltese suits and purchased more mainstream Canadian clothes. Norm was always a proud Canadian.
His parents, Oreste and Rita Vella, and his younger brother, Raymond, moved to Canada only three years after Norm had immigrated. They sold their house and changed careers so the family could be together.
Norm started his first job at DuPont in Whitby, Ont., only two weeks after arriving in Canada. He stayed there for 43 years until retiring in 2003. He made many lifelong friends at DuPont.
Norm and I met at a church dance. We married 18 months later in 1966 and had two children, Myles and Nancy. Ours was a fairy-tale romance between two very different people who truly loved and respected each other despite our flaws.
We owned and operated Espresso Legato Coffee House in Bowmanville, Ont., for seven years before selling it in 2004. It was probably one of the happiest chapters in our marriage because we got to work together and met so many wonderful people.
The only way that losing Norm has been made bearable is knowing that he has not had to endure the loss that I have. All those years with Norm are like a lovely dream now.
By Merna Vella, Norm's wife.