Benjamin Grillo was born July 11, 1925 in Brooklyn New York to Angelo Grillo and Mary Lanzarone. His birth certificate gives his name as Benedetto which got transformed to Benny, and then Benjamin over time. He had an older brother, Frank, and an older sister, Agnes. Later his sister Vivian was born. They lived in the East New York section of Brooklyn. This was a poor, culturally diverse area with crowded housing and high crime. Benjamin graduated from JHS 64 in 1940, and then graduated from High School subsequently. In March 1944 he was inducted into the US Army and served as a Military Police Officer stationed in the area of Boston Massachusetts. It was there that he came in contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses, specifically a Brother Stone who witnessed to him while on the base, and where he attended some Christian meetings. He was favorably discharged from the Army in May 1946. He continued his contact with the witnesses in Brooklyn where various brothers from Brooklyn Bethel would call on him. This included Brother Arthur Goux who had been a personal secretary to Brother Joseph Rutherford, the second president of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. On May 13, 1951, Benjamin was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He attended a congregation that met in Jamaica, New York where he met his future wife Doris Baier. They were married on May 10, 1952 at the congregation Kingdom Hall. Although they wanted a larger family their one and only child James was born on December 22, 1954.

They initially lived in a small apartment in East New York then moved into larger apartment in Benjamin’s parent’s house on Pitkin Avenue in the same area. Benjamin worked for a period of time for Wonder Bread as a delivery driver, having to get up around 4AM to be able to do his bread delivery route. Later, he took a Civil Service exam and worked as a US Customs Clerk in Lower Manhattan for a number of years. About 1960 they moved to Ozone Park, Queens where they became associated with the Woodhaven congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Benjamin changed jobs and became a New York State court officer at Brooklyn Supreme Court in downtown Brooklyn, from which he retired in March of 1990. Benjamin did a lot of traveling over the years. When James was young they would go upstate New York virtually every year during the summer and stay at various resorts. Later he traveled most often with his wife Doris to many places such as St. Thomas, Bermuda, San Francisco, numerous towns in Florida, California as well as Paradise Island. In 1982 he moved to Babylon, Long Island and purchased a house in Babylon Village. Later they moved to Bayshore and then back to Babylon. He and his wife Doris became associated with the Babylon congregation where they remained until their passing. Doris passed away on August 1, 2010 exactly 14 years to the day prior to her beloved husband. Benjamin was an avid student of the bible and a man of faith. He had an extensive research library focused on biblical topics and world history and was a very deep thinker. He wrote copious notes on a variety of deep scriptural topics. He was very active in the field ministry and was especially noted for the way he informally shared his faith.

He had a very easy way about him and could strike up conversations with virtually any stranger in a supermarket, airport lobby or hospital. As an example during the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing New York he and his wife had a lengthy discussion with a Mormon Bishop at the Mormon Pavilion about how their beliefs line up with the bible. He was never afraid to discuss his faith. Benjamin was also very generous. He helped countless friends and family financially and other ways over the years. Whether it was providing lodging, for short or longer periods of time, providing transportation including buying cars for others, or providing funds to perform a needed repair or major renovation, he was there to help. His wife would say, “Benny, you’re going to give all your money away and have nothing left,” and he would say, “that’s okay-we’ll just get a loan.” Benjamin was also noted for his determination and stick-to-itiveness. He would ensure a solution to a problem would be followed to a conclusion when many others would give up. One time there was a flood in his son’s basement and all the hardware stores had sold out their water pumps. His son didn’t know what to do. Benjamin was able to obtain a pool cover water pump (the last one in a store) that did the trick. He also enjoyed baseball. He himself played a good game hitting, fielding, and throwing as demonstrated at congregation picnics at Valley Stream State Park. He originally was a Brooklyn Dodger Fan, but when they moved to the west coast he became an avid New York Mets fan, watching most of their games as recently as just a few days before his passing.

Ben loved music. He and his wife Doris spent many a days learning and playing the guitar together. They would play, “Home, Home on the Range” and many other similar songs. He loved the Roger and Hammerstien Musicals like, “The South Pacific”, “Oklahoma” and the others. He also enjoyed Opera music, sung by singers like Enrico Caruso and Mario Lanza. Then there was also his love of the Big Band sound, by artists like Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. One time when he was convalescing in a rehab center and being wheeled around a sunny hallway, he broke out in song singing, “Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, I got a beautiful feeling everything’s going my way.” When you ask his friends and family what they remember about him a consistent theme comes through. He was very easy going and kind, patient, soft spoken, never angry or upset, hospitable, level headed, mellow, never made you feel bad after speaking with him, even after discussing a controversial topic. He was the “kindest gentle soul”, loving, easy to talk to, empathetic, caring, a very special person, a spiritual man, a lover of Jehovah. Benjamin is survived by his son James and his wife Christina, his granddaughter Joyce and her husband, Devin, and his great grandchildren, Juliet and Christina.