Olga Grillo, 82, Was Kind and Generous to Friends

Olga Grillo, 82, of Oak Bluffs, died on Oct. 5 of heart failure at Martha's Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs.

Olga moved to the Island from New Jersey five years after the death of her husband, Joe, in 1991. She came to be closer to her family, especially her grandchildren.

Born in New Brunswick, N.J., on Sept. 22, 1924, Olga was the daughter of Ella (Kopko) and Harry Ohrodnik. Raised in a large farm family during the hard times of the Great Depression, she left high school early to help support her family and herself as a professional dressmaker. She met and married her husband when she was in her late teens. While he was away during World War II, she worked in a munitions factory to help support the war effort.

After the war, she and her husband lived in South Plainfield, N.J., where they raised their son, Joe Jr.

Olga was a working member of the International Ladies Garment Workers for more than 40 years until she retired in 1990. Her life while retired on the Island was filled with learning and mastering arts and crafts, and incorporating local recipes into her culinary repertoire. Helping her son and daughter in law with their boys was always her priority, however. In her time on the Island, she made many friends. She was always there and available to help those who were in need of her generosity and many skills. She will be greatly missed by her loving family and those who knew her.

Survivors include her son Joe, his wife Kate, and her grandsons Joseph and Antonio of Vineyard Haven; and her sisters, Eleanor Lasowsky, Verna Petrarca and Marianne Hromoho.

A memorial service for Olga will be held on at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury. Memorial donations may be made to Vineyard Nursing Association, P.O. Box 2568, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557. Arrangements are under the care of the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs.