Michael Zeolla Jr.

He was born in Newton, Massachusetts on April 28th, 1947, into an Italian American family of plumbers. His father and uncle were in business together and operated a major plumbing company that serviced the State House and most of the hospitals and banks in Boston. They wished Mike would join them but he declined, though he did learn the trade from them. He had other interests he wished to pursue. One was an interest in business. He received an Associate Degree from Burdett College, followed by a bachelor of science in Business Administration from Suffolk University. Another interest was farming. He bought a 700-acre farm in Maine and farmed there for many years. Moving back to Massachusetts, he started his own plumbing business. His reputation as a plumber was stellar. He was known by his clients to be a “kind and sweet” person and highly ethical and honest.

He lived a very interesting existence. A few decades ago, he bought a five-acre wooded property near the historic Wayside Inn (which was a client of his). He built a house on it to be as close to authentically in the 18th century tradition as possible. Every detail was scrupulously considered to maintain that tradition. He built various structures on the property to further embellish it with the 18th century environment. One was a carriage house with a bell tower that actually had a bell that he rang on special occasions. Another, was a barn, built to house his “hobby” of collecting old run down machines that he tweaked and worked on.

But his true love was cats! He had many over the years. He has donated the full value of his estate to the Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Milford in order to set up an endowment for the feline research and care. Donations there would honor his memory.

His burial will be on Friday, September 9th at 12:30 at the New Town Cemetery in Sudbury, Mount Pleasant Section, Fieldstone Lane #1

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.duckettfuneralhome.com for the Zeolla family.