Age 75

John James Griska, of Elm Grove, Wisconsin, passed away in his sleep on Memorial Day, May 30, 2022, at the age of 75.

Beloved husband of Darlene. Loving dad of Angela Sell (Dan) and Gina Hackwelder (Tom). Proud grandpap of Gavyn and Sofia Sell. Dear brother of Robert (Sharon). Further survived by brothers and sisters-in-law, Nadine and Chuck Kinnison, Clayton and Dorean Kastl, Carol Kastl (Clarence) and Joyce Novak. Also survived by nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Anthony and Frances (Hackett) Griska and his father and mother-in-law, Joseph and Mollie (Placek) Kastl.

John grew up in Pittsburgh where he graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1964. John proudly served his country as an Army Medical Corpsman in Vietnam from 1966-1968, and after graduating from college at Robert Morris with a business degree, was employed in the truck trailer industry in Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, and Chicago where he met his wife, Darlene. They moved to Wisconsin where he and his business partner, Avner Hizmi, started their company, Javco Trailer Sales in 1984. He retired in 2011. John joined AA in 2012 and was proud to have maintained his sobriety since then.

John enjoyed golfing, fishing, reading mystery novels and singing along to “oldies” music—but what he loved most was spending time with family and friends. He was the life of the party and could captivate a crowd with his humorous jokes and stories. Anyone you met John loved him. He was kind and compassionate, wore his heart on his sleeve and always saw the best in people. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Please see Becker Ritter.com to livestream John's Memorial Service on Saturday, July 9.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Mary's Visitation Parish in Elm Grove or to the Milwaukee VA Medical Center.