Carlo Iasella

Age 95, of O’Hara Twp., on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, Mr. Iasella was the beloved husband of Norma Jean Buzzelli Iasella; father of Carlo Luigi Iasella (Zita), Gino Iasella (Jeanne), Mario Iasella (Kim), Adria Scott (John), and the late Dino Iasella; son of the late Domenico Luigi and Elvira Colaianni Iasella; brother of the late Nelda, Linda, Gemma; grandfather of Carlo (Alissa), Steven, Michael, Anna, Francesca, Dino, Jack, Tommy, and Andy.

Mr. Iasella grew up in San Pietro Avellana, Italy and came to the United States in 1947 at the age of 17. He served in the Korean War as a Corporal assigned to Army Ordinance attached to combat engineers. He was a tool & die machinist and later joined his father’s auto/truck repair shop in the Strip District.

He was a fixture in The Strip, running his garage for 52 years. Across the years customers became dear friends and generations of shop owners & workers became extended family. “Go ask Carlo” was repeated countless times over the years. Decades of “Feast of 7-Fishes” midnight Mass at St Stanislaus, and late night cookies, wine and drinks were a cherished tradition.

Carlo and Norma Jean bought the family farm in 1960, and through the years he made a lifetime of memories: 4th of July picnics with hundreds of people, riding snowmobiles through the frozen fields, raising chickens, cutting the fields with his antique Ford tractor. (ALWAYS in first gear!) and spending endless hours in his barn where he’d built a full woodshop and also a full machine shop. He never stopped moving.

Neighbors and friends came to him for advice… how to fix the unfixable, how to solve unsolvable problems. He was self-sufficient, but unselfish to a fault with time and talent. His was a lifetime of problem solving and invention. He was granted a patent for gas lamp control, but also built dozens and dozens of machines, tools and devices around the farm and shop. He was a craftsman and always loved the challenge of finding some way to do a job better.

FOOD was LOVE to Carlo. If you stopped at the farm on Sunday, you would get a dish of homemade spaghetti and meatballs, and a dozen eggs. -At the right time of year, you would get some of his roasted chestnuts.

He was proud of his Italian heritage and he always made an effort to stay in touch with his nieces and nephews and cousins across the country and in Italy. 

He was in love with his beautiful wife of 67 years, 5 children, daughters in law and son in law, and so very proud of his 9 grandchildren. He had many dear friends he made throughout his life. Above all else, and in the end, he was about family, and friends who became family. 

Celebrate Mr. Iasella’s life with his family on Thursday from 5-7 PM and Friday 2-4 PM 6-8 PM at PERMAN FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES, INC., 923 Saxonburg Blvd. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Matthew Parish, All Saints Church, Etna on Saturday at 10 AM.