CHICOPEE ~ James Edward Guiel, of the Fairview section of Chicopee, died peacefully in his sleep on the morning of Saturday, January 19, 2019. He was 50 years old. Jimmy, as he was fondly referred to by his family and many friends, was born in Holyoke on June 19, 1968, and was raised in his childhood home in Chicopee, the same place he passed away. As a young boy, Jimmy enjoyed a wide circle of friends and was a talented soccer, baseball and basketball player. He participated in the discus on the Varsity Track Team at Chicopee Comprehensive High School and graduated in 1986. He attended Saint Anne Church in Chicopee every Sunday with his parents, his grandmother, Margaret “Peg” Sands, and his three brothers. His career pursuits included stints in jobs ranging from the Big Y Supermarkets to working for various landscaping companies. Jimmy pursued his passion for landscaping and opened his own small company for some time. Jimmy was an incredibly gifted and well-rounded person and a quick study in all pursuits. He possessed an inquisitive nature about God, life and the world and his quick wit and social graces made interaction with him unique. By far, the biggest thing about Jimmy was the size of his heart. For such an incredibly intelligent and complex person, Jimmy broke his priorities down to two things he felt were most important…service to his family and service to God. He cooked, cleaned and did laundry for his parents and his brother, Michael. He managed the food shopping, lawn mowing and snow blowing, too. Although a help to all, he focused his care and devotion to his brother, Michael, and his ailing mother, Linda. Jimmy fervently believed in God – in a higher benevolent power. He slept surrounded by a rosary and his favorite King James Bible, a book he not only read, but truly studied. If Peter was the rock of the church, Jimmy became the rock of our family. We take solace in the fact that Jimmy believed in God and heaven. We believe he is there right now, where he is enjoying both the company of God and the fruits of heaven. Jimmy leaves his beloved parents, Gerald E. and Linda M. (Sands) Guiel, of Chicopee with whom he lived; his three loving brothers, Jon J. Guiel and his wife, Brenda, and Michael E. Guiel, all of Chicopee, and Jeffrey M. Guiel and his wife, Davi-Lee (Baker) Guiel, of South Hadley; his two cherished nephews, Luke and Levi Guiel of South Hadley; his two cherished nieces, Alyssa and Katelyn Guiel of Chicopee; his dear aunt, Janice Mastaj of Naples, FL; and his many dear cousins, numerous friends and extended members of the Guiel and Sands families. His family will receive friends on Friday, January 25, 2019 at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Fairview Chapels (413-533-3307), 506 Britton Street, Chicopee, MA 01020 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. with a Prayer Service in the funeral home at 6 p.m. The parking lot is located in the rear of the funeral home. His family requests that memorial donations be made in his memory to a charity of the donor’s choice. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com