John Francis Grantonic

John Francis Grantonic passed away peacefully Sunday morning, November 16, 2025, listening to "songs, hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord." He was just days shy of his 96th birthday.

He was born on November 24, 1929, in Mingo Junction, Ohio, the son of John J. and Anna L. Jakub Grantonic.

A graduate of Steubenville Catholic Central, he served honorably in the Ohio National Guard for seven years.

"On May 14, 1955 he married his soulmate Barbara (Rozsa) Grantonic. From that day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, they set out to discover the real meaning of love. And they figured it out. Gazing into each other's eyes like newlyweds, they just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. To us kids, it is our dad's greatest legacy.

"For 42 years John built a successful career as a sales agent with Nationwide Insurance, but he devoted a lifetime to building a family.

"Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once said, 'In a big family the first child is kind of like the first pancake. If it's not perfect, that's OK, there are a lot more coming along.' Our dad liked pancakes, so he made seven.

"Our dad, 'John G.', liked music. He inherited that passion from his dad, and now it's been passed down to several of his kids, grandkids and even great-grandkids. A tenor, he loved to sing and was a proud member of the Holy Family Church choir for decades. He also sang in Seraphim, a community chorus, and the Youngstown Symphony Chorus. We grew up hearing him strum folk songs on his Gibson guitar like Woodie Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" and Peter Paul and Mary's "Puff the Magic Dragon." He can still sing in Slovak too!

"He never flew a plane, but aviation fascinated him. He had a special love for aeronautics like airplanes, rockets, and kites. One neighbor once thought dad's box kite was a flying lawn chair. He liked big toys like tractors and backhoes and, later in life, the electric golf cart he used to take a spin around his property. He enjoyed running and ran races, including the Youngstown Peace Race coming in third for his age group. He was a long time member of the Western Reserve Wood Carvers. Besides winning awards for his carvings at the Canfield Fair, he carved canes and walking sticks for veterans.

"He liked the outdoors too. Whether deer hunting at Meigs, landscaping, transplanting trees from one spot to another 'til they died, taking long walks in the woods, fishing, camping with the grandkids in the backyard, or using his tractor to make an igloo, he was an outdoor guy.

"According to Matthew (pancake #7), 'If you were shipwrecked on a deserted island, you wanted Dad with you because he was resourceful. All he needed was duct tape and a paper clip and he'd get you home.' For example: Don't like to tediously wind in your kite? Invent a deluxe kite winder. Need to serve BBQ chicken to a reunion crowd? MacGyver a sandwich style chicken flipper grill grate so the entire rack can be turned at once. Bored with your seesaw? Repurpose a gadget in the garage to make it go up and down and round and round. (And hang on for dear life!)

"Above all else, he was ALWAYS building things. His premier creation was "Snoopy" a one-of-a- kind pedal powered open cockpit biplane. Built for a child, it was exhibited in local parades. It now resides at the Ernie Hall Aviation Museum in Warren.

"In his lifetime, he also built a pigeon loft, two-story play forts with sandboxes for the grandkids, and a zip line through the trees. He bought two acres of undeveloped land and built a house. He built a two-tiered koi pond with a waterwheel then designed and built a bridge over a dry creek. Since he belonged to a garden club, he built a heated greenhouse and, with our mom, raised flowers and vegetable plants from seed. For many years, that greenhouse was the source of the Holy Family Plant Sale, benefitting the church choir.

"When it came to the landscaping, our dad did the construction, the heavy lifting, and mom made it beautiful with flowers. They raised bluebirds and monarch butterflies too. The property is gorgeous, winning accolades on tours and the site of many elegant garden parties. Recently he had an indoor sitting nook built with a bay window so they could enjoy watching the hummingbirds, squirrels, and deer that frequent the back yard.

Our dad was a generous philanthropist. He funded the renovation of the John and Barbara Grantonic Youth Learning Center at the Davis Family YMCA.

And finally, he was an American patriot and an eternal optimist. He even wrote a poem about the latter. He was proud of his country and his family's extensive military service. Stop by Mission BBQ (restaurant) in Boardman to see his father's picture on the wall. During World War l, his father drew military cartoons. Seeking to preserve his work, John G. used a wood-burning tool to meticulously transfer the cartoons onto wood blocks. They are now housed permanently at the World War I Memorial Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

John leaves behind his beautiful wife, Barbara; his children Anna Marie (Gary) Francisco of Youngstown, Patricia (Jerry) Evans of Elyria, Barbara (Glenn) Patton of Norfolk, VA, Thomas (Karen) Grantonic of Boardman, David (Jill) Grantonic Leetonia, Andrea (Tod) Reiser of Mercer, PA, and Matthew (Colleen) Grantonic of New Middletown; his 16 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren, with two more on the way.

John was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Mary Agnes Matthews and Florence Hirkala; and brothers, Edward Grantonic, George Grantonic, and Thomas Grantonic, who died in France during WWII.

To honor our dad, please cherish your spouse, love your kids, honor a veteran, and build something beautiful. Join the clean plate club too. It will look good on your resume!

Family and friends may pay their respects from 9 to 10:30 AM Tuesday November 25, at Higgins-Reardon Funeral Homes, Poland Chapel, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 AM at Holy Family Church.

John will be laid to rest at Poland Riverside Cemetery.