So loved …What a precious son, Uncle, brother and dear friend and beloved Priest to many!  

Will be greatly missed.   Love ❤️ you.  
Janet Mariani

To Fr Grassi’s beloved family we extend our deepest 
and most heartfelt condolences. Your family is in our thoughts & prayers.
Our hearts are heavy with the passing of our beloved Fr Grassi. He was cherished & a very meaningful part of our family’s life.
We were blessed to have him in our lives & are forever grateful to God for this blessing. 
He was there for us through so many moments—offering prayers, wisdom, humor, kindness, and compassion. He had a special way of making you feel loved & cared for. Our family will always treasure his love and friendship.
We will miss him more than words can express. He will always have a very special place in our hearts.
It is a comfort knowing that he has gone home to the Lord whom he served so faithfully. 

Dottie & Ron, Heather, Jennifer, Christopher & Kimberly  Kingen

Fr Dom was a loving and kind soul. Liza Martin

To the Grassi family,
 My name is Mike Cahill. Dom was a mentor of mine for many years. He taught at Quigley South while I was a student their in the '70s. We became good friends. My Dad, Bob Cahill, was on the faculty and he and Dom were also good friends. Dom was warm, creative, supportive and present and available. He cared deeply about the city and the church. He married 2 of my siblings and buried my Dad. Later, when involved with Arise, he worked with my son James on a protest of the Archdiocese over their Covid policies. He also did the marriage preparation for James and his new wife Kelsey. I love Dom and will never forget him.

Fr Dom Grassi, someone who made my high school years more challenging and more fun.  A positive influence who made you think and make good choices.
Mike Kasper  QS 78

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Father Dominic Grassi. When fire destroyed St. Sebastian Church in 1989, it was the end of an era for so many of us who grew up in that parish. My family, like many St. Sebastian families, found a new parish home at St. Josaphat.

I was already in high school, but remember that transition well. In an interesting chapter of Chicago parish history, the loss of St. Sebastian also breathed new life into St. Josaphat Grade School, which had been struggling with enrollment. Families and children from St. Sebastian became part of the St. Josaphat community, helping bring together two wonderful old North Side parish traditions.

Father Grassi was a kind and welcoming priest and, represented the best of the old-school Chicago parish priest — someone who knew his families, understood the neighborhoods he served, and recognized that a parish was about much more than a church building. It was a community.

My connection to Father Grassi became even more personal in 1995, when he celebrated the funeral Mass for my father.  I still remember and appreciate the kindness he showed my family during one of the most difficult moments of our lives.

Father Grassi was part of a generation of Chicago priests who helped hold neighborhoods and families together through enormous change. I will always be grateful that our family’s journey from St. Sebastian brought us into his parish and his care.

May Father Grassi rest in peace, and may his memory be a blessing to the many families and communities he served.

There never was a priest who taught kids that they were worthy of love no matter what quite like Fr. Dom Grassi. I was lucky enough to get to know him a little bit and eat his delicious Italian cooking and his divine mission was to teach kids that they are loved by God without conditions. He washed the feet of children during Holy Week and made sure they felt included and connected to the church. He made everyone feel welcome - and was beloved even by the non Catholics who were a part of our Catholic school community. He didn’t think God’s love was reserved for Catholics or even believers- he taught that it was big enough for EVERYONE. You didn’t have to believe in God for Him to believe in you. 
His presence will be missed but that feeling of divine love he planted in our children will live on.
He had a picture of my baby Katie (who is now 19) on his desk from when he used her as his “prop” at the Family Christmas Eve mass at St Gert’s in 2009. She was so calm hearing him speak about God’s love that she fell asleep in his arms.

Father Dom, in addition to being an inspirational "All are Welcome" pastor at St. Gertrude,  was also a great supporter of ecumenical and interfaith activities.  He was an active participant in the Edgewater Community Religious Association (ECRA) and participated in the Sacred Seeds dialogue series with our Jewish, Muslim, and other Christian denomination friends.   He also initiated the joint lighting of  the Easter Vigil Candle between Immanuel Lutheran Church (ELCA) and St. Gertrude.   Even in retirement, Fr. Dom was a supporter of various ECRA activities.   What a broad view of "All are Welcome."   Thank you, Father Dom.         Allen Stryczek (St. Gertrude parishioner)

Hard to describe the impact Fr Dom has had on the Hart family. Such a great friend for many years. We cherish the opportunities we have had to stay connected with Fr Dom. 

His generosity , spiritual guidance, and love for those he served in his various ministries is evidence of a life well lived. His humor was one of a kind , his jokes legendary, and his optimistic spirit will live on in us all.

God bless Fr Dom. May his memory be a blessing!

Beth and Dennis Hart

My condolences to the family of Father Dominic Grassi.
Father Grassi was a great supporter of Catholic Schools.  He saw the value of faith based schools and the importance of children receiving a Catholic education wherever possible.
While I was assistant superintendent at the Office of Catholic Schools, I served on the National Catholic Education Association Board and I highly recommended Father Grassi for the National Distinguished Pastor Award at their annual convention.   Needless to say Father Grassi's application won with flying colors!
He is a great loss to the priesthood in so many ways.
Sal Guccione
Former Assistant Superintendent (Office of Catholic Schools)

We are so lucky to have had you when we did. Thank you for impacting all of our lives. Watch over us always.

Fr. Dom taught me how to be a teacher. He was my department chair when I was hired at Quigley South and was so supportive and inspirational. I was honored and privileged to co-author with him Living the Mass: How One Hour a Week can Change Your Life. Dom was a good friend to our family and Joanne and I will always remember him with love, smiles, and laughter!

He was a mentor, friend, and counselor to me. He truly was a great man as well as Priest. R.I.P. Father Dom. 

Tom Nylen Quigley South Class of “73”

We lost one of the best. Fr. Dom cared deeply about people and they for him. He was a bigger than life person, creative, compassionate, attentive who loved serving others.
I count him as a dear friend. I was privileged to give the homily at his first Mass in 1973, 
It was a joy to serve with him at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center and at Quigley Seminary South where we had a great team in the Religious Education and Guidance and Counseling departments. As a teacher and coach he mentored many who still remember him fondly many years later.
I am only sorry I cannot attend his services because of a commitment I cannot change. Praying for him and the family.
Bishop Jerry Kicanas

OBITUARY

Father Dominic J Grassi

August 8, 1947 – August 25, 2026

Blake-Lamb Funeral Home

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