May 11, 2021
Mathew Gardella
WOODBURY – Mathew (Matie) Gardella, of Ansonia, died peacefully on May 7, 2021, in Woodbury, succumbing to the infirmities of old age at 94 in the home of his niece, Gina Gardella, who provided loving care to her “Uncle Matie,” the last of the Gardella boys.
Matie was born Feb. 23, 1927 in Ansonia, to Giacomo and Angela Gardella, the sixth and youngest of four surviving children, two having died of the Spanish Influenza in 1918. Giacomo (AKA Jack) Gardella in 1932 purchased the grocery store on the corners of Tremont and Cliff streets in Ansonia.
It was here at the “Gardella” store that Matie’s life was lived. Matie grew up helping the family tend the store. The impact of the Great Depression is what Matie remembered, hard times, but the store hung on.