Paul Grillo, Jr.

Inspirational Former West Catholic Teacher, Local Poet and Artist Dies



Paul B. Grillo, Jr. was a lifelong Philadelphian (b. 1943) and was, in his words, "educated at bus stops, record hops, and Jesuit schools". He was a brilliant educator for over forty years, teaching English Literature to students at the high school and college level at schools in and around Philadelphia, including Cardinal O'Hara High School, West Catholic High School for Boys, and St. Joseph's Preparatory School. In later years, he was Academic Advisor at Temple University's Tyler School of Art. He taught his students to appreciate poetry, art and music, teaching such courses as "Poetry and Rock" wherein the works of Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan were discussed along with the prose of classical poets and writers. He touched the lives of many of Philadelphia's youth, encouraging them to embrace who they were and to bravely become who they were meant to be. Many of his students became his lifelong friends.

Paul was also a widely respected poet and acclaimed collage artist. Since the late 1960's, he has published hundreds of poems in literary magazines and journals in the United States and abroad and is the author of five works in print. Some of his poetry was included in anthologies with the works of such contemporary poets as Ira Cohen, Charles Plymell, and Gerard Malanga. Over the years, he read his poetry to packed houses in venues around the Philadelphia region and New York City. His visionary collages have been widely exhibited and are part of many significant private collections. He also greatly supported and encouraged members of Philadelphia's artistic community, upcoming and established artists alike, most notably the works and endeavors of longtime friends, Ellen Powell Tiberino and Joe Tiberino. He continued to write at least a poem a day, every day, and carry on his visual creations even as he battled a diagnosis of inoperable cancer.



Paul divided his living between his native Philly, his wife's hometown of Montreal, and a lifetime of summers at the Jersey Shore in his beloved Wildwood Crest, New Jersey.



Paul passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of August 28, 2013, slipping into the next world on the waves of Van Morrison and the whispered love of his daughters. He is survived in love and appreciation by his wife, Anita Fiset, his daughters, Johanna Lawson (nee Grillo), Amy Grillo, and Claire Grillo, his sons in spirit, Chris Lawson and Miguel Dorman, his stepson, Darrin Deveaux, and his grandchildren, Christopher, Charlotte, Taylor, Claire, Isaac and Chaiya.



Family and friends are invited to a memorial gathering to be held at the Church of St. Agatha and St. James at 38th and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, on Thursday, September 12, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. to be followed by a memorial mass at 10:30 a.m. Internment is private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Paul's name to the American Cancer Society or the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.