Christine Grasso
Christine Grasso, 73, wife of Steven J. Grasso, passed away on July 20, 2021 at the Courtyard Nursing Care Center in Medford.
Born August 14, 1947, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Mildred (nee Sullivan) Zbyrowski.
Christine married Steven September 19, 1995 and made their home in Melrose for nearly 24 years.
Christine loved nature, was deeply spiritual, and a hard-working housewife with a background in floral design after receiving training in the early 70s. Her talents included landscaping, flower gardening and houseplants, painting, sewing, decorating, floral arranging, macramé, and an advanced knowledge of herbs and herbal remedies.
Christine was baptized into the Jehovah Witness faith in 1983. This began her 38 years in faithful service. She made many friends and found real joy in her loyal service to Jehovah.
Born and raised on a farm in southern Rhode Island, she grew up always in nature surrounded by her large, extended family.
Christine was known for her caring nature, beautiful blue eyes, sense of humor, strong morals, and for her love of God and others. She has helped a lot of people in her life, taking in battered women, feeding the less fortunate, and providing support and encouragement to women in need. She loved animals and frequently rescued them. At one time, she had 3 cats, 3 dogs, and a parakeet. Her pets survived often into their 20s because of her advanced knowledge of herbs and how to treat animals with plant-based remedies. She was likewise dedicated to always caring for herself first through herbs, nutrition, chiropractic care, and other alternative methods which she began studying intensively in the early 70s.
Christine is survived by her only child, Holly Becker, and her grandson Aidan Becker, in Hannover, Germany and her brother Dr. James Wallquist and his family in Boca Raton, Florida.
Christine’s sister, Patricia Perra of Maine, predeceased her.
Christine’s family would like to thank the staff at the Courtyard Nursing Care Center in Medford with a special thanks to her Hospice Care Nurse, Jeanine, for making her final weeks comfortable as she lost her battle with Lewy Body Dementia.
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My mother was a wonderful person, I will always love her and continue to live my life in a way that shows her how much I respect, appreciate, and care about her.
I was privileged to come to know Christine becoming friends with her daughter Holly when I was 15 years old .. Christine was a child at heart with her keen sensitivity to making others feel warm , wanted and special.. she was a truly a nurturing person and her kindness will never be forgotten…she was a beautiful soul inside and out,, I’m glad you are at peace and to her daughter and my friend Holly.. she lives on in you .. I only wish you good memories
Christine was an extremely helpful and kind person !! I say this because she always was looking for ways to give back.. She knew who loved her and she made sure they knew it!! She’s always looked for me at any kind of Event we were attending. Even though we weren’t always together, it never mattered, we would pick up right where we left off!! She loved life and all the beauty around her. She would talk endlessly about her talented daughter Holly❤️ When she wakes up she’ll know she’s in Paradise, because that’s all she talked about. Rest easy my Dear Friend, it won’t be long and we’ll be together again ! ❤️❤️❤️
Mein Name ist Regine Becker und ich bin die Schwiegermutter von Holly, Christines Tochter.Das lange Leiden und der Tod von Christine hat mich sehr erschüttert.Wir haben uns kurz nach der Geburt ihres Enkels kennen- und schätzen gelernt.Leider war die Zeit zu kurz.Aber sie ist mir als äußerst liebenswerter Mensch und liebende Mutter im Gedächtnis geblieben.Wir hatten ein paar Mal schriftlichen Kontakt .Aber da war die sprachliche Barriere.Aber eines kam immer wieder zur Sprache und das war ihre große Liebe zu ihrer Tochter Holly.
Christine und ich sind im gleichen Jahr und Monat geboren.Aber das waren nicht die einzigen Gemeinsamkeiten die wir hatten.Wir waren sozusagen “eins” im gleichen Gedankengang und Glauben.Ihr Denken war geprägt von tiefer Liebe und Dankbarkeit zu unserem liebevollen Schöpfer und Gott.
Und in der Hoffnung ,dass Gott treuen Menschen versprochen hat, sie wieder zum Leben zu bringen wenn sie einmal sterben.Ich freue mich unendlich auf diese Zeit, wenn ich meine Schwester Christine hier im Paradies auf der Erde in die Arme schließen kann.Jetzt schläft sie erst einmal für eine kleine Weile und kann sich von all den Strapazen ausruhen.
Christine, ich werde Dich nie vergessen!
I love you Oma Christine and I‘m sorry you‘re gone, I feel sad. I really, really wish you weren’t gone but I‘m going to see you again in paradise.
Yes Christine was very loyal not only to JEHOVAH, but also to her true love, her husband Steve. Christine was an active lover of nature and showing Steve many different flowers and other plants when they would walk through the different paths as they were experiencing nature from our Creator. Loving all animals and laughing when ever they watched them play, and the endless colors and different birds as they sat on the branches and flew by her and Steve. Christine’s eyes lit up a room along with her smile, her life was not easy by any means and yet she enjoyed what each good day gave her. She made the best of it and had a great attitude, and she ALWAYS felt loved and safe in the arms of her husband Steve Grasso, Christine was LOVED so much by Steve and now she is resting in the memory of JEHOVAH and Steve awaits the resurrection to one again embrace her, Christine you are loved.
It was truly an honor for myself and our team at Convenient Hospice to be a part of Christine’s journey.
Yokasta and I were fortunate enough to have Christine’s loved ones share stories of her passion for gardening, her thoughtful and kind nature; always ready to assist someone in need. Her gracious spirit and love for others would encompass any where she traveled. Her loving heart has touched each and every one of our team members.
Her husband Steven was at her bedside and dedicated to support Christine along her path.
Her loving daughter Holly traveled countless miles to be at her mother’s side. With each story shared by Holly we would gain more understanding of what an exceptional woman Christine was throughout her life. Every time we would FaceTime with Holly and her son, we would see a reflection of Christine’s beautiful blue eyes and kind heart. It was truly amazing to witness how her interaction with Holly and her grandson would take Christine from a place of stress to peace.
We wanted to thank the staff at Courtyard and our hospice aide : Yokasta hospice aide, Stacey Bryant NP, Eileen unit manager, Caroline, Sabine and so many others for their compassionate gentle care provided to Christine and her loved ones each and every day.
Wishing her loved ones peace.
I enjoyed so much reading the expressions about our wonderful sister Christine. I never met her personally but she is a sister l plan on getting to know better in the new system. We seem to have plenty in common. May our Heavenly Father,Jehovah continue to hold Steven’s right hand and console him.
To the family of our dear friend and loyal sister we are so sorry for your loss.♥️ We were remembering all the fun times we had going out together, and serving Jehovah knowing we would be friends forever in the paradise earth. A time when no one would be sick,or die. This wonderful promise at John 5:28, 29 will soon be a reality. Until then please know she will always be loved and remembered Sincerely with love your friends forever Doug and Mary Jones
Donna and I both can honestly say Christine was one of the most enjoyable persons to be with out in the Christian ministry. Loved to stop and literally smell the roses and any other flower we came upon. Was very funny and kind and generous to everyone. We are really going to miss those times with her. But we are looking forward to seeing Christine again, braking out with one of her songs (she had a very pretty voice) or one of her descriptive stories that she could think up usually about an animal or bug, she made the ministry a real positive time.
We know soon Jehovah will have great joy by returning to us his loving servant who loved Him so much and all her brothers and sisters and her family, Holly and Aidan whom she talked about all the time and of course Steve.
Hebrews 6:10 Jehovah will not forget a faithful servant!!!
My lovely Christine and good friend, you will be missed. You had the kindest heart, and so full of love. You cared about people so much, i will always remember the loving kindness you have shown me, and i will never forget you. Until we meet again.
Allison and Fran My song to Christine I look forward to the new world, when we can walk together again. Along the shores, garden’s and trails, and together discover new things. Yes, I look forward to when death, when it is no more! As well as suffering and pain! I look forward to when, these things we’ve endured, when it is THEM, who passes away. When at last! “the real life”, we forever can live. When every tear will be wiped from our eyes. When those, we have lost, are brought back to life, many tears of joy, we will cry.
The kind and loving expressions , family, brothers and sisters, friends, touch me deeply. I’ve always felt that Christine is the best wife and friend I could ever have had. She always made others feel comfortable and at ease, was always complementary, uplifting, and always tried to make others feel better about themselves . She would help anyone at any time. She was always a pleasure to be around. If you never got to know her, you really missed out. I’ve loved you since I met you, I love you now , and will love you Forever. I’m so glad now that you’re safe and secure in our heavenly Father Jehovah’s memory, and will be in that Paradise, where you will be so happy Forever !
I did not have the opportunity to meet Christine, but I have the chance each day to be reminded of the love and beauty she brought to the world through her daughter, my friend Holly and dear, sweet, funny, creative Aidan. I can imagine the goodness of Christine’s heart and soul and will be forever grateful to her for gracing the world with their presence.
May she be at peace in love and light that’s there for all of us and know that she lives on, here, through Holly and Aidan.
I was saddened to hear the news today, she was truly a good friend to all. I look forward to seeing her again in Paradise
Christine was kind, caring & considerate. Her love of animals or any living creature was undeniable. Gone too soon, but not forgotten.
I met Christine in 1997 when we landed in Melrose, MA. She was my dog walker as we worked 12 hour work days. Once we started having children, Christine became so interested in caring for my girls. She became my sitter/nanny/2nd mom for many years to come. She was loyal, honest, kind, respectful, hard worker, etc.
She became a huge part of our life.
I will cherish our friendship forever!
My girls are 19 and 20 today and they will never forget her!❤️ . RIP Christine#Teeni…. We will always remember you!
Christine was an incredible person. I saw her in December 2016 after not having seen her for many years. She made me feel like no time had passed at all. As always, her bright blue eyes had such a spark of life and she looked so happy. I will miss her warm smile, her kind words, her witty remarks, and how much she loved those around her! Holly, you were given an amazing mother!
We were so sad to see Christine so ill. She always had a deep love of Jehovah and this was seen even in her sickest days when she was still giving a faithful witness to Jehovah.I will miss her chats about flowers and crafts.She would often come up to me before or after the meetings to talk about the gardens she would have in Jehovah’s New System and she would try to give me hints on how to keep my flowers alive. Christine was quiet and shy, but she was not when it came to her love of Jehovah. Jehovah reads hearts and He loved Christine very much. We look forward to seeing her beautiful smile when she looks at her garden.
Will always remember Christine as a shy, caring person, but especially her quirky sense of humor, her eyes would always light up and she would have a large grin on her face. Christine truly loved her family, she told how she had no sense of direction, so Holly was the navigator getting them to the conventions and back home. When her grandson was born even though she didn’t like to fly, nothing was stopping her to get to Germany to see and hold Aidan. Now Christine is in the safest place, in Jehovah’s memory.
To my sister. As an adoptee, I will always be grateful to you & Holly for uniting me with my biological mother, your grandmother, Millie. This experience allowed me to express my love & appreciation to her for choosing life through adoption. It also allowed me to connect with the extended family I never knew existed. Over time, I came to know you more fully through your cards, letters & personal phone conversions. Though you endured many hardships during your lifetime, you always presented as a kind, loving & caring individual. To me, your legacy is defined by your kind heart, warm personality, sense of humor, love of nature & sensitivity towards others. You will be forever loved by the many lives you touched during your lifetime. Rest in peace my sister. With love, your brother, Jim
Dear Steve,
We just heard about your loss of Christine. We long for the day when we will be able to see our loved ones again strong and healthy. May Jehovah strengthen you during this difficult time. You will be in our prayers.
Holly
We are sorry for your loss. Your Mom was a lovely person. She is resting now, but will soon be welcomed back to a better earth with vibrant health. You will be in our prayers.
Steve, I was deeply saddened to hear about Christina’s passing yesterday. I will always remember her as being one of the most sweetest, kindest, patient and considerate people I know. When you talked with her, she would make feel like you had been her friend forever. That was Christine! To know her was to love her.
When my dad was ill, Steve and Christine would stop by the house to see how he was doing. It made my dad so happy. I could see how he would light up when telling me that they had stopped by for a visit. This meant a lot to me.
So Steve, I know you lost your wife and best friend, and for that I am deeply sorry. Someday, you will both walk hand in hand together again in Paradise.
Rest easy Christine….you will be missed. ❤️
Miss you Steve A. – Mar Fiske
I’ll get my hug when you wake up!♥️
To Christine’s family and friends…..my deepest condolences.
She will certainly be missed more than she could have ever imagined! I was privileged to have Christine as a best friend in my life for over 30 years. We were in the same congregation for a while in South Carolina. Holly and my daughter were friends then and used to play together. What good memories I have! We always stayed in touch through the years and cried and laughed together through so much! Mostly we laughed! I still hear her laughter!
We always had hope we would live near each other in Jehovah’s new world under paradise conditions…how we used to talk of how it would be then!
Bye for now my sweet friend! The most humble and kind and truly loving friend anyone could EVER wish for! So much to look forward to…see you later Christine! It won’t be much longer….
Always in my heart! : )