No worries, our Expert Electrician, Andrew Martella returns next month with another of his features we always enjoy. I asked Andrew if I could step in to share with readers how my work has helped me to become an expert in recommending experts to be trusted for how they serve customers, treat employees, and contribute to the community. Andrew’s father, Carmen Martella, the founder of Martella Electric who passed away in February at 94, was surely an Expert Electrician who lived an expert life.
Bob, Blaisse, publisher
Marple Friends & Neighbors
On February 18, 2024, Carmen Martella, the father of our Electric Services Expert, Andrew Martella, and founder of Martella Electric Company, passed away. Carmen was born on December 19, 1930. He came into this world not knowing how much he would influence several generations of family, friends and customers, or how impactfully his legacy would outlive his own life.
Carmen attended Boch Vocational High School where he excelled in the electrical curriculum while leading the stage crew for all auditorium events. Carmen was often called out of class to solve electrical and other mechanical issues in the school, growing his reputation as the go-to guy when a challenging problem needed to be solved. With this talent and determination, Carmen learned the electrical trade from a Master electrician but was soon faced with a decision when his mentor suddenly passed away. In 1955, Carmen made the decision to officially launch his own business, Martella Electric Company, out of a small home on Webster Street in West Philadelphia.
Carmen married Joan, the love of his life, and Carmen and Joan’s family grew to seven children, requiring the couple to move their family in 1961 to a larger home in Upper Darby. There Carmen and Joan involved their children in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Choir Groups and Camping, while they helped as active volunteers, ensuring their children put maximum effort into everything they knew could help them be prepared
for adulthood.
Andrew Martella and his three brothers worked with their father as young boys and into their teenage years. Andrew and Richard joined Carmen in 1987, leaving their careers in construction to take Martella Electric into the next generation. The company continued to grow and prosper under Carmen’s close eye and demand that Service, Integrity and Excellence always were the top priorities of the company he founded.
In 2009 Carmen retired and his sons Richard and Andrew Martella took over to carry on the business and traditions that today make Martella Electric Company one of the best-known and most trusted residential electrical contractor companies in the area, serving Delaware County, the Main Line and Southern Chester County.
Long before retiring, in 1976 Carmen Martella became interested in stained glass art and attended a class to learn a new craft. He never stopped creating until his death. In his retirement, he spent every day creating unique pieces of stained glass art which he simply gave away to just about everyone who asked.
Sadly, Carmen Martella created his last piece of stained glass art in February, passing away on February 18, 2024, truly beloved by his family, friends and customers. To the thousands he served in business, Carmen’s expertise kept the lights on, while the life he lived lit up every room he entered. Every piece of his stained glass art continues to contribute sunlight to beauty and will be his legacy, as will the Service, Integrity and Excellence Andrew Martella and the employees of Martella Electric Company today carry on in his honor, proving without a doubt that Carmen Martella was surely one of life’s exp
