James Joseph Pannella

1957 - 2023

James Joseph Pannella, 65, passed away on Tuesday, June 6, 2023. He was born on December 12, 1957, in Waltham Massachusetts. From an early age he was hardworking and selfless, at age 15 he took over raising his siblings when his mother Lorraine passed. At the same time, he started working at Framingham Cooperative Bank, which paid for his degree in Accounting at Bentley University. In 1981 he enlisted in the Navy and served on the USS Nimitz. After a year in Bethesda Naval Hospital for a broken back he restarted his life in Washington DC. He started multiple businesses with Infowire Communications being the most notable, where he built out most of the fiber-optics of Baltimore City and employed hundreds of contractors. He was a dedicated father of two sons, Sean and Ross, which he had with Karen Lynn Pekkala. He would talk to his boys daily and their friends became part of the family. He is also survived by his younger sister Teresa Mailhot. He was a passionate cook whether turducken on Thanksgiving, Beef Wellington on Christmas, or Braciola. On multiple occasions, he paid the price for standing up for integrity and continued to fight no matter what the setbacks were. A celebration of life will be held at Hardesty Funeral Home, 12 Ridgely Ave, Annapolis, MD 21401 on Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dysphagia Research Society, dysphagiaresearch.org. Online condolences may be placed at www.hardestyfuneralhome.com