Obituary of Russell J. Gratta

Russell J. Gratta, 79, of Chandler AZ passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He was a beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

Russell was born on January 11^th 1944 in Jersey City, NJ to Russell and Viola Gratta. When he was young the family relocated to South Plainfield NJ where he volunteered for the Rescue Squad for many years. He was a firefighter in Plainfield, NJ where he retired as Deputy Chief of Operations after over 30 years of service. In his later years, he relocated to Arizona and spent his free time working as a school bus driver for Kyrene School District.

After his second retirement from bus driving, Russell loved going to breakfast or the casino with friends and family. He was a very sociable person and was happy to talk to anyone and everyone about his years in the fire service, his family and anything about history or music.

Russell was preceded in death by his son Thomas Gratta and his brother Thomas Gratta. He is survived by his children Lisa Komanitsky, Russell Gratta, Lori Duffy and her husband Thomas Duffy, as well as his two sisters Patricia Verderosa and Mary and Roger Conover of NJ.  Russell had 8 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

There will be no service at this time. The family is planning a celebration of his life in the months to come.