Ed Camilleri

On September 25, 2025 Manuel “Ed” Camilleri passed away, surrounded by his loving family. He was born June 13, 1950 in Detroit to Edward and Lucia Camilleri. He grew up in Dearborn and graduated from Fordson High School in 1967. He began working for Ford Motor Company before enlisting in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war. He served for two years, and was awarded four medals during his service. Upon his discharge, he resumed work at Ford Motor Company where he worked for a total of 30 years. He was especially proud of his work in apprenticeship training at Ford. During that time he also earned his associate’s degree from Henry Ford Community College.

Ed married the love of his life, Ela, on July 14th, 1973. Their lives changed two years later when the first of their six children was born. He loved being a father. He was one of the first dads in the school district to volunteer in his children’s classrooms; he would decorate paper lunch bags for his kids; he even rode the school bus to field trips, making balloon animals for all the students. He built his family a home in Grosse Ile, where he loved spontaneously entertaining friends and family, often with very little warning to his wife and kids. He could often be found playing euchre at the kitchen table and working on cars in the garage. People would see him driving around town in his red “Mystery Machine” Ford van.

Once his kids were grown and he retired from Ford, he and Ela moved to Florida where they soaked up the summer sunshine year round. He loved having cocktail hour with friends, driving his golf cart around, floating in the pool, and fixing everything for everyone. He especially loved not having to shovel snow. Recently, they returned to Michigan to spend more time with their kids and grandkids.

He is preceded in death by his sister Carmen, and his parents Edward and Lucia Camilleri. He is survived by his wife, Ela; his sister, Maria; and his children: Joe (Michele) Camilleri, Lisa (Greg) Glover, Rhea (Rob) Jordan, Sandra (Matt) Yaeger, Tina (Lou) Sreniawski, and Michael (Sara) Camilleri. He had twelve grandchildren, who he loved dearly: Sara, Charlotte, Connor, Daniel, Audrey, Michael, Nathan, Ella, Logan, Abigail, Chloe, and Kayla. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, who will remember him as the “Crown Uncle”.

Memorial Visitation

Sunday, October 5

1:00-5:00pm

 Memorial Service

5:00pm

Fred Wood Funeral Home

 36100 Five Mile Road Livonia, MI 48154

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