Paul Joseph Vella
elevated r48OI August 12, 1937 ~ December 27, 2022
elevated r48OI Visitation
Wednesday, January 4, 2023 from 4-8 p.m.
elevated r48OI Funeral Mass
Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 10:30 a.m.
Chapel of St. Joseph at Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
Entombment
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
elevated r48OI Obituary
It is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of Paul Joseph Vella at the age of 85 on December 27th, 2022. Paul was born August 12, 1937 in the city of North York to Grazio and Carmela Vella (both predeceased).
elevated r48OI He will be greatly missed by many including his wife of 60 years Sandra, his children David, Danny and Loriann and his bother and sisters Mary, Joan, Anne, John, James, Michelina and Joseph. He was a loving grandfather and enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren Cody, Lila, Conner (predeceased), Sydney, Paige, Sam and Madison.
elevated r48OI He began his legacy in 1959 when he purchased his first shoe store with the help of his mother and father. He named it Vella Shoes. One store grew into over 40 and eventually evolved into the name Walking On A Cloud.
elevated r48OI Shoes and people were always his passion. He built the business with hard work, dedication and determination. No job was too big or too small. On any given day you would find him transferring shoes, fixing electrical issues (his professional trade) or driving/delivering shoes to his many stores. A pillar of knowledge and success in the shoe community he developed strong, lasting friendships with vendors and staff that stood the test of time. He truly loved to joke, laugh and bring joy to people’s days.
elevated r48OI When his kids were young he and his wife purchased a house in the country with land and horses. He loved to ride horses and enjoyed teaching his family to ride, bail hay, and how to clean stalls! He taught us; strength, determination, hard work, the importance of people and friendships and above all the art of humour and laughter. Join us as we say a heartfelt good bye at Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home, 211 Langstaff Rd E, Thornhill for a visitation on Wednesday, January 4 from 4-8 p.m . A funeral mass will be held within the funeral home in the Chapel of St. Joseph on Thursday, January 5 at 10:30 a.m. An entombment will follow in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery.
elevated r48OI In lieu of flowers, donations made to Diabetes Canada would be appreciated by the family.
elevated r48OI Livestream
Click here to watch the mass
So very sorry for your loss. You will be missed uncle Paul.
My deepest condolences to the family. Paul was a kind and generous man, loved and respected by many. May he rest in peace.
So sad to hear the news. I deeply admired Mr Vellas character and heart, I’ll always remember him with love. I worked for him for most my life lol. Til hubby and I saved up enough $ to move away and buy a house. He was always so good and kind to me. I’ll never forget him and my good ol shoe store days. Please accept my condolences for your loss. He’ll always be remembered as a hard working man , great family man and dear friend.
My deepest condolences to all 🙏🏻 Paul was a great man and accomplished so much. RIP 🙏🏻
To Sandra,Lori,David and Danny .
I am truely sorry about Paul passing away,he will be truely missed by by all his family and all the staff at Walking on a Cloud..
I will be donating to the Diabetes Canada next week .
I truely know what it is to lose someone realy close to you as I lost my Husband Reg on the 7th April 2022 .
I will be sending a card to Sandra .Thinking of you all .
Angela Phillips who use to working at store 18 .
love to all Angela .
Sending you my most heartfelt condolences after the passing of your brother. May his memory forever be a blessing.
Our deepest condolences to the whole family. Paul will be missed. We remember all the jokes and sense of humour and how he always made you feel welcomed. Rest in peace Paul.❤️Marina & Sal
I am so sorry to hear about Paul. He was such a fun and kind person. I friend for 54 years. I will miss him
Paul was a big part of our lives as we grew up in Toronto. He has had a lasting effect on all of we Zammit’s.
“Easy for you to say”(with a grin). “Are you going to be all day?”(with a laugh) are the phrases that allways make me smile.
What I loved the most was paul taking the time to learn every employees name and how to pronounce it
Seemed to know what to to say in good times and bad.
I’m so grateful for all the special times.
Love and miss Paul
No words can express the sadness and loss I felt when I heard of Paul’s passing. He was an incredible man who helped many many people including myself. From our family to yours, we are lifting you up in prayers and love during this time of loss. We know that his memory live in on all who knew him.
My brother Paul always brought a smile to our family gatherings either by his humour or playing the piano, I miss him already but I know it was his time to go. Rest In Peace Paul
Forever in my heart and prayers
Sad to hear of the passing of Paul Vella.
Sincere condolances.
So sorry for your loss
Dear Vella Family,
Sincere condolences for your loss, we send you all of our love during this most difficult time.
So sorry to hear about Paul. Condolences to all the family. Love Karen Vella, James and Greg. Daughter of Joseph and Carmela Vella.
So sorry to hear of Paul’s passing. It has been a pleasure working with Paul over the years and will miss his humor and one liners, May he RIP.
My deepest condolences to the family.🙏
Our condolences to the Vella family.
We knew Paul through the shoe business, and spending time with him was always a pleasure.
His sense of humor was infectious to everyone.
My deepest condolences to the Vella family, always I will keep him in my mind ,amazing human being. Rest in peace
Paul was a good man with a good soul.
He hired and gave me a chance to work for him. Always was good to me and always offered great advice to me.
As Store Manager at his Ajax and Woodbridge locations, I thrived under his guidance.
I will miss you.
To the Vella family
My fond memories of Paul are endless. I was a rookie when I first cold called Keele and Wilson. He was serving several customers so I jumped in to help. After the rush was over he said well get your stuff I guess I have to look now. Santana and Cornell became staples in his stores. I always kept in touch. To me he was an icon.The industry has lost one of its best.
Dave we are so sorry to hear of your fathers passing. Our thoughts are with you and your family.
Paul, we miss you greatly, your humor and visits to your house
after Mass. Love, Anne
My heartfelt sympathy to wife Sandra, to all the children and grand kids to all his brothers and sisters. May he Rest in Peace in God hands.
To Sandra, David, Danny, Lori and the Vella Family
I have many memories of a generous Paul Vella – he would have given the shirt off his back if you needed it. I am happy that I got to meet such an amazing man in this lifetime. We shared many laughs, some sorrows, great beginning. He was loved by all who met him and will be missed by all whom got to know him. Rest in Peace – Boss. You will always be in my thoughts and know that you will be greatly missed.
P.S – Can we have a few good snowstorms, please – We have lots of Boots to sell – one thing to always remember – you can never have enough stock!!! You always made sure we did not.
So sorry to hear of your loss. I have many fond memories of lunches with Paul and friends and many conversations. He was infatigable, a pioneer in the business, and a class act. The only person I knew that didn’t need a computer to keep track of stock. He will be missed. Condolences to David, Lori, Danny and family.
To David, Danny, Lori, Cody and all the Vella family.
So very sad to hear of the passing of Mr. Vella. I have so many fond memories and laughs not only in the “boardroom” but also in the warehouse and stores. A pillar of the Footwear community and a man that everybody just adored. I thank you Mr. V for telling me to tell David to “keep the sizes in the guts”!!
You have left an incredible legacy for all of us to try and measure up to!
Paul Vella was one of the most gracious, likeable and popular people in the Canadian Footwear Industry. He was always the same whenever one was working with him. A “no nonsense” type of guy whom I always had the utmost respect for. He was certainly hard working and deserved everything he achieved in the many years he spent in our Industry.
My condolences to the entire Vella family. May he Rest in Peace.
Sincerely.
Cedric Morrice
Our deepest sympathies to the Vella family. Paul was a real gentleman and a legend in the footwear industry. He will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
On behalf of Shoe Tech Canada our deepest condolences to the Vella family. Paul was the hardest working retailer in the industry, always made time for whomever called on him. Rest In Peace .
My Husband John was Paul’s SAS salesman
John thought the world of him , they were good friends
He was a good man
So sorry for your loss
Vella family, so sorry to hear of the passing of Paul. How coincidental that after years of hearing of Paul from my late father Bob Axmith (another shoe legend!) that we would connect with Dave and then Lorianne. Sending our love to the whole family. Our thoughts are with you.
Sorry for your loss. I remember how kind and generous Uncle Paul was his whole life. He taught me to laugh at small things – and they are all small things. I miss his smiling face.
Paul was not just my boss, he was more like that “cool” uncle who you always enjoyed spending time with, the one who would always teach you something, make you laugh, make you a better person because you spent time with him.
I spent many a Sunday morning at a store with just him and I working, I will miss them so very much.
You were one of a kind.
Rest in peace sir.
Tony-Bob
I have so many fond memories of Paul. He was the first customer I called on when I started on the road. It was at his store at Wilson and Keele. Our business relationship turned into a great friendship, and even after I retired my wife Irene and I would drop by the warehouse and have coffee and chat. Paul was the most generous person I have ever met to everyone – staff, sales people, suppliers and store customers. He was always a gentleman and he will be missed dearly by all of his family and the shoe industry. Rest in peace my friend. Jack Ruutberg and Irene Hannah
My sincerest condolences on the loss of your brother, husband, father, grandfather and friend. My heart and thoughts are with you all.
Our deepest condolences to the entire Vella family.
May Paul rest in peace in our good Lord loving hands.
Our prayers are with you all.
With all our love.
The Racco and Grignano family
My deepest condolences to the entire Vella family. My thoughts are with you.
Michael and I are saddened to hear of your father’s passing.
Your father accomplished a lot during his life time; what an achievement! I will never forget seeing him in the warehouse working that one day. Mr. Vella, I said, you shouldn’t be working in the warehouse! He was all hands on.
I was fortunate to travel with your parents twice. He always had time to talk to me and we shared many good laughs.
The passing of a father is beyond sad, as Michael and I both know. Our thoughts and prayers and abundance of love for you Lori, your wonderful children and your family are and will always be with the Bella Vellas.
Mr. Vella, RIP. Your work is done.🙏🏻 Love Shane and Michael McCleary
My deepest condolences to the Vella family.
Paul was a very special person. A wonderful human being.
May his soul rest in peace
David, Lori, Danny, and Vella Family
i am so sorry for your lost. I met Paul 42 years ago with McNiece . He was always such a kind and great man. The laughs over the years. he was kind the stray cats he would rescue. He was modest and hard working delivering the shoes to each store, so he knew what was selling.
i am truly to know he is gone.
My deepest sympathies to the whole Vella clan many good memories of Paul
Dear David, Danni, Lori and the entire Vella family,
My deepest sympathies. Paul was a great man who created an incredible legacy both in business and in family. May you cherish the fond memories.
My deepest condolences to all Vella family.
Rest in Peace – Boss. You will always be in my thoughts and know that you will be greatly missed.
Maisa Mourahli Alkassab
Our condolences to the Vella family.
Paul will be greatly missed by the entire footwear community from coast to coast.
AFA Canada
My sincere condolences to the Vella family
After knowing and working with Paul for 40 plus years I can not say enough positives about this hard working ,fun loving ,exceptionally nice man . He was the same great guy from Wilson and Keele days to his more than 40 store success story .
A truly wonderful man .
Unfortunately, Lou and I were unable to give our deepest condolences to you in person, as we are out of the country. Uncle Paul was a wonderful man who helped us immensely, and we will always remember his kindness, his quick smile, and his sweet eyes. Truly a gentleman, and one who looked after others. We will always remember him fondly.
Dear David, So very sorry for your loss. Mr. Vella was a very kind man to me from the first time he gave me the opportunity to hear my spiel about my ugly Dansko Clogs at the Toronto Shoe Show. A pioneer in the footwear industry. I know he will be missed by so many.
Thinking about you and your family at this time.
Sorry to hear of Paul’s passing.He was funny man and always had a funny story to tell you.