Camille Johnston Manella

Camille Johnston Manella, of Sarasota, Florida and formerly of Albion, New York and Biloxi, Mississippi, passed away suddenly on February 22, 2017. She was born in Biloxi on October 6, 1937 to Albert Sidney and Shirley Johnston. She was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Margaret Mary Gicewicz; and her brother Noel Johnston. She is survived by her children, Michael Manella of Ocean Springs, MS, Karen Manella of Albion, NY/Sarasota, FL, and Stephen Manella (Patty) of Westhampton, NY; her grandchildren, Michael Carlo Manella (Brittany), Stephen Mario Manella (Heather), Stephen Lee Manella (Brenda) and Jacob Lee Manella; her great grandchildren Roman, Hudson and Phoenix; her siblings Virginia Kent of Albion NY, Al Johnston of Ocean Springs, MS, Shirley Crohan of Cape Haze, FL and Billy Johnston (Brenda) of Biloxi; many nieces, nephews, and cousins; and so many dear friends that loved her and whose friendships she cherished, among them Cheri Ivarsson, Debbie (Foxy) Guastella, Peggy Wilkins, and her lifelong best friend Jocelyn Uchello Turnbough. Camille graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Biloxi and after high school she moved to Albion where she met and married her late husband, Leon (Gags) Manella. She worked as a paralegal for all of her working years, but she also had many other ventures. Camille was an avid lover of the water. She loved boating and deep sea fishing in her younger years. She worked as a lifeguard at Peck's Quarry in Albion in the 60’s, where she taught her children and many others to swim and she even saved the life of a young boy during her time there. After Leon passed away, she returned to her hometown of Biloxi with her children. Still working as a paralegal, on the weekends she operated Camille's Windsurfing on Biloxi Beach where she taught windsurfing and rented out windsurfers, something she absolutely loved. She also operated a food truck, Camille's Po-Boys, on Biloxi Beach. After a visit to her sister Shirley's in Cape Haze, Florida, Camille fell in love with the beautiful water and moved to Sarasota in 1987, where she lived the last 30 years of her life and where she met her beloved Harry McKenna. They spent 15 wonderful years together filled with love and laughter until he passed in 2009. Camille found great joy in feeding people and also used cooking as therapy for all the constant pain she was in, mainly from rheumatoid arthritis. She published a cookbook, Cookin' with Camille, and she taught cooking classes for Publix Supermarkets with her last class just being held on January 26th, where there was a full house and she had the most wonderful time. She was very proud of her culinary talents. She was actively working on her 2nd cookbook and was already planning the menu for her next cooking class. Everyone who knew Camille was drawn to her warm and magnetic personality, her southern charm, and of course, her cooking! She touched so many lives and will be greatly missed. Celebrations of Camille's celebration of life will be held in Sarasota and Biloxi, and later in Albion. The Howard Avenue Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home in Biloxi will be handling the burial services. There will be a graveside service at the Biloxi City Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, 2017. Immediately following there will be a celebration of her life for close friends and family at 3:00 pm at the Biloxi Visitor's Center. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions to be made to The Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation @ https://www.helpfightra.org/donations