Joseph Thomas Parrillo Jr.

My Grandfather was an excellent man my earliest memories are of him holding me on his lap while on the riding lawn mower mowing the lawn. He was there for my late son William and I am sure he is with William now teaching him how to fish as he taught me. I was most appreciative of the way he accepted my wife and her children as though they were his own blood. I will miss him dearly. We all will.
Love,
Paul, Lynda, Danielle, Leigh Ann, Christina, Austin, and Kymberlyn.

Joe, for the past 19 years, had always made me feel appreciated as his daughter-in-law and family member. His level of love for life, all family members, friends and Dolores have always amazed me. He always made me feel welcomed, even when he slid me out of the back of his truck, he knew I still loved him and will miss him dearly.
Shirley

What can you say about a man who lived life to its fullest? A man who lived his life for the love of his family. A man with whose experiences in life could fill a hundred lifetimes. A man that we all wish we could emulate.

Although Joe was my father-in-law, I always felt welcomed and loved in his home. Some of my favorite times were listening to the stories of his life. Stories, I will truly miss. Because, as Joe reminded us, Dolores never got them right.

I...

This is probably the hardest paragraph I've ever written. How do you put in words what a wonderful person, dad, father-in-law, friend, and grandfather he was to us and our sons? He was the best at all of it and did it with such great pleasure. Mark has great memories he tells me about back home and the things his family did together. The times just he and his Dad went to church together, fishing, hunting, skiing, etc. Watching Joe and Dolores cooking all the time gave Mark the joy of cooking...

Joe always made me laugh no matter how down I may have been on the inside. Showed me new ways to cook different meals. He was a good driver, when he was awake! I made the mistake one time, by letting him drive to get air horns for the motorhome, while he was visiting us. In route I was talking to him, as I looked over at him while we were in a turn at 50 mph. He was in one of his nods and it scared the heck out of me. He just opened his eyes as if never skipping a beat. Later when we returned...

In the song Daddy's Little Girl it has a line...
You're the end of the rainbow my pot of gold

But now the ending verses seem appropriate because my Dad was...
The treasure I cherished (and his smile was) so sparkling and bright.
He was toughed by the holy and beautiful light.
Like Angels that sing (he) was a heavenly thing. and I'm glad I was Daddy's little girl.

There are so many things he taught me I couldn't begin to describe them...

Dad was a giving man. He taught me to dance, fish, hunt, drive a car (a stick shift even), back up a trailer to launch a boat, change a tire and throw a baseball like a boy. I knew I was loved as a person not just a daughter. He told me I could do anything. He gave me unconditional love. But it was the way he lived his life that showed me how to live mine. I learned how to make friends easily, to travel with my kids all over the country and to enjoy life to the fullest. I also inherited his...

Many people may have lived longer lives than Joe, but no one could have lived a fuller life. Joe awoke every morning with a philosophy that if God was giving him another day he should get started. So, Joe happily read the paper, made coffee and breakfast and talked to anyone awake at that insanely early hour. Joe found joy in his wife and children, in taking his grandchildren fishing and water skiing and in his unintentional involvement in an occasional squirt gun fight. Joe took pleasure in...

JOE WAS THE BEST PEOPLE THAT I HAVE EVER MET IN MY LIFETIME.HE HAD A ZEST FOR LIFE THAT COULD BE ENVEYED BY ALL ,ALWAYS HAVING A SMILE AND MOST OF THE TIME A JOKE. HE WAS MY FRIEND AND I WILL MISS HIM BUT I KNOW THAT HE AND CAROLYN ARE HAVING A GOOD TIME IN HEVEN. GOD BLESS US ALL.