Funeral set this week for Gilly’s owner Jerry Gillotti

Gerald "Jerry" Gillotti, the iconic co-founder and owner of Gilly's Jazz, will be laid to rest Friday, Dec. 1 following a 10 a.m. mass of Christian burial at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 411 E. Second St., Dayton.

Visitation will be 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30 at Tobias Funeral Home, 5471 Fair Hills Ave., Kettering.

>> PHOTOS: Jerry Gillotti through the years

The 80-year-old died Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23 at Hospice of Dayton.

Gillotti’s family announced Friday that he died after a long battle with heart and kidney disease.

He had been severely injured in a robbery and beating outside the nightclub at 132 S. Jefferson St. in March 2016. No arrests have been made.

>> Gilly’s Jazz owner injured in robbery (March 2016)

Jerry Gillotti mentioned the serious brain injury he sustained in that attack as a major contributor to his declining health in an interview with us last month about the future of his beloved music venue at 132 S. Jefferson St.

>> 5 things to know about Gilly’s Jazz, a Dayton legend for live music

He said he hadn't fully recovered, and was relying on his wife, Winifred "Winnie" Gillotti, for transportation. His brother, Tom, increased his involvement in the business.

The Gillotti family said in a statement that Gilly’s will close permanently on Dec. 31.

Before opening Gilly’s, Jerry Gillotti was an inside salesperson for the Farnbacher Toy Company and was Public Relations Director for Cassano Pizza King, where he co-hosted the “Fans in the Stands” radio show with Vic Cassano on WHIO Radio for over seven years.

He had also been an advertising consultant for the Tatone Auto Group in Fairborn. Mr. Gillotti, a 1962 University of Dayton graduate, bought Wedgewood Inn on Patterson Road in 1969 and featured jazz acts there two years before he and his brother purchased the former site of Green Derby at 801 N. Main St. and transformed it into Gilly’s. The first show as Gilly’s was Roy Meriwether on July 7, 1972.

>> RELATED: 45 years of Gilly’s 

Performers booked at Gilly's through the years include a host of local groups and a laundry list of national acts that include Tony Bennett, Diane Schuur, BB King, Wynton Marsalis, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Bill Evans, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Count Basie, Bobby Blue Bland and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

» Three recent losses to Dayton’s music scene include some of its giants

He earned the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music's William Lawless Jones Jazz Acknowledgement Award in 2006 and was inducted into the  Dayton Region's Walk of Fame in 2013.

The Dayton native and graduate of Chaminade High School hosted local jazz shows for WDAO, WVUD, WING, and WMUB.

Gillotti is survived by his wife of 54 years.

He is also survived by son Michael (Paula); daughter Catherine; daughter in-law Cynthia Gillotti; brothers Fred (Carol), Tom; his Aunt Mildred; and five grandchildren, Thomas, Christina, Katie, Maria, and Dominic.

He was proceed in death by his parents, Adam and Rose Gillotti and his son Stephen Gillotti.

In lieu of flowers, the Gillotti family asks that donations be made to Hospice of Dayton or St. Joseph Catholic Church.

Community members shared heartfelt thoughts about Gillotti and his commitment to Dayton.