John Lewis Grady Jr.'s Obituary
John L Grady, Jr was born March 7, 1951 in Philadelphia to parents Livonia Thomas (Grady) and John L Grady Sr. John Grady transitioned on December 4, 2020 after a very recent diagnosis of an aggressive form of cancer at age 69.
John was educated in the Philadelphia School system and at the age of 16, the family suffered the tragic loss of their Mother Livonia and 2 of his older brother Dennis’ young children in an apartment fire. The loss was so profound for the family and especially for “Johnny Boy”. It would come to be something for which he carried the devastating emotional scars for the rest of his life. John entered the US Navy at age 19, during the Vietnam War and served his country. John was very charismatic and had a great sense of humor. He has many jobs throughout his lifetime including Steward at the Mother Bethel AME historical church where he met Rosa Parks on a visit to the black historical church in Philadelphia. He was also a Drug & Alcohol Counselor at Eagleville Hospital and this is perhaps where he discovered his true calling of helping others to help themselves. In 1995, John Grady and Mary Tucker founded Eazy Does It Drug & Alcohol Recovery Program. The program served thousands of people during the 11 years in operation seeking recovery and support services. The program offered various services within the community including feeding the homeless, mental health support, job training and life skills and even a drug free social club.
John leaves to mourn, daughter: Tiffany Cherie Grady, son: John L. Grady, III, sister: Linda Keets; 5 grandchildren: Amir, Sydney, Aram, Arielese, John IV; long-time friends: Mary Tucker, William Honnen, and a host of cousins, nephews, nieces and friends, the EDI family Love & Respect!
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