Yolanda E. Carello's Obituary
Yola Carello (Dee), passed away on June 2nd ,2016 at Stanford Medical Hospital surrounded by her loving family. Yola was the daughter of Armando DeRosa and Mary Ann Zarrella of Waterbury. She grew up with four brothers, Vinnie, Dick, Larry and Tommy.Her brothers formed a band in the early years and Yola and her husband Rich along with their friends and family often went to see them perform. They would sing along and dance as the family band played numbers that were current to the time. These were memorable days and the family often talked about their talent.Over the years, Yola worked closely with her husband Rich at their Christmas tree farm and garden center in Connecticut. The Garden Center was located on their property adjacent to Route 69 and Cedar Lake in Bristol. The old house on the property built in c 1724 provided a unique point of interest and became the focus of the Colonial Nursery and Garden Center.Rich and Yola restored the old circa house originally built in c 1724. It took approximately six years to complete.During the Christmas Season, many of their regular customers returned to tag trees and enjoy the old colonial circa house. During the 1970s and 80s, the entire lawn around the old house and garden center would be decorated with white lights as Christmas music permeated the area. The lights made the old house glow. The front entry door of the house was dressed with a Christmas wreath and red bow. The wreath was usually made by Yola and Sharyn and provided a warm, welcoming environment during the holiday months. Rich and Yola sold the garden center in 1989 and continued to work the Christmas tree farm until 2012.Yola was a model mom and enhanced her daughter Sharyn’s life with piano lessons, dancing lessons, flower arranging and many extra activities. Together Yola and Sharyn attended flower arranging classes and pursued hobbies such as singing ,dancing and collecting antiques. Yola was a regular part of the PTA school meetings. She supported her husband Rich’s business by working for various companies such as Superior Electric and Gedney.During the last few years of her life, Yola and Rich relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and lived close to their daughter Sharyn and son-in-law Jeff Vucinich. They relocated and retired to California and enjoyed the pleasant weather and “la dolce vita”.Yola leaves her beloved husband Rich, daughter Sharyn Vucinich, son-in-law Jeff Vucinich and nieces and nephews.A private celebration of her life was held at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo, California in June 2016 and a family celebration of her life will be held in Connecticut in the Spring of 2017. “We miss your beautiful smile and laughter, mom. We were blessed to have you here with us. ”
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