John D. "Sonny" Grillo

1936 - 2016

John D. "Sonny" Grillo, age 79, of Chardon, died January 14, 2016, at Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood.
Born Sept. 24, 1936, in Cleveland to Nickolas and Lola (nee Romito) Grillo, he grew up in Murray Hill, then moved to Chardon to start his family. Sonny then moved to Streetsboro and finally back to Chardon in 2008.
Sonny worked for many years as a shipping and receiving clerk for National Copper and Brennan Industries, both in Solon. He was a Cleveland Browns fan, enjoyed playing poker, and was an avid fan of "Doo Wop" and "Jitterbug music." He sang baritone with various groups, the most recent being "Memory Lane", until retiring in the mid 2000's. Sonny proudly served in the U.S. Army. His greatest joy was spending time with his family and his dogs. He married Laraine Eldredge in Chardon on June 15, 1974.
Survivors include his wife, Laraine; one daughter, Lisa (Zachary) Hirt of Akron; three sons, Chris (Kathy) of Gibraltar, Mich., Scott (Amanda) of Kent and Kevin (Teresa Hall) Grillo of Fairport Harbor; grandchildren, CJ, Jordan, Kyle, Andrew, Anthony, Sienna and Kaylee; sister, Shirley Wood of Las Vegas, Nev.; sister-in- law, Claire Grillo of Olmsted Falls; mother-in-law, Priscilla Eldredge of Chardon; brother-in-law, Marty Eldredge of Chardon; and sister-in-law, Karen Nypaver of Columbus.
His parents, and his brother Nickolas are deceased.
The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 21, at the Burr Funeral Home, 116 South St. (on Rt. 44, 500' south of Rt. 6/Chardon Square), Chardon. A funeral service will follow the visitation at 8:00 p.m.
The family requests that donations be made to Rescue Village, 15463 Chillicothe Rd., Novelty, OH 44072 or to your favorite charity.
Information and condolences online at www.burrservice.com.