John A. Vella of Braintree, where he lived his entire life, passed away peacefully on Friday March 27, 2015 at the South  Shore  Hospital  in Weymouth at the age of 80.

He was the beloved husband of Cecilia A. “Sally” (Spear) Vella, with whom he shared 54 years of marriage; the dear father of Robert Vella and his wife Donna of Bourne, Annmarie Jaworski , Maryann Coleman and her late husband Brian, John A. Vella Jr. and his wife Christina all of Braintree; Loving brother of Joseph Vella and Anna Gilberto both of Braintree and the late Phillip, Paul and Catherine Vella, Margaret DiPasquale and Mary Blackburn. Also survived by his nine cherished grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

John was one of eight children of the late Albert and Rose (Ternullo) Vella.

Until his retirement in 1995, he was a Quality Control Engineer for Polaroid Corp. of  Norwood  for 30 years.

John was a lifelong member of the Braintree K of C. and served  honorably  with the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated in St. Thomas More Church, 8 Hawthorn Rd. Braintree,  Wednesday April 1, 2015 at 10AM. Burial with military honors will follow at St. Michael’s Cemetery Boston. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to visit the McMaster Funeral Home 86 Franklin St. (Rt. 37) Braintree, Tuesday March 31 from  4 to 8PM. In lieu of flowers, the family  has  requested  that  donations in John’s name may be made to Super Saturdays,  Braintree Special Needs Program  c/o  Mary Ford Clark, Braintree High School, 128 Town St., Braintree Ma. 02184.