Updated: August 12, 2026

Edison, New Jersey – Gregory “Greg” Tufaro, lifelong Edison resident, award-winning New Jersey journalist, public servant, and founder of the Marisa Tufaro Foundation, died on August 10, 2026. He was 59.A devoted husband, father, mentor, and community champion, Tufaro spent nearly three decades chronicling the stories of Central Jersey athletes and families before transitioning to public service and transforming personal grief into lasting philanthropy. His work combined meticulous reporting, quiet advocacy, and profound generosity that improved the lives of thousands.

Roots in Edison and a Lifetime of Service

Born and raised in Edison, New Jersey, Tufaro graduated from Saint Joseph High School in Metuchen with the Class of 1985. He remained a proud Falcon throughout his life, later serving as chair of the school’s inaugural Hall of Distinction Committee and playing an instrumental role in the return of the Saint Joseph Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 2021, he was inducted as a contributor. The Saint Joseph community remembered him as “a true Saint Joseph Falcon” whose commitment was felt in countless ways:

“We are grateful for Greg’s friendship, dedication, and lasting impact on Saint Joseph High School. Our prayers are with his wife, Cyndi, and extended family, friends, and all who knew and loved him.

A Falcon Forever.”Tufaro continued his education at Middlesex College and earned a degree in journalism and mass communications from Rutgers University.

He began his career as a part-time sportswriter with the Home News Tribune in 1989 and became a full-time reporter shortly thereafter. For more than 30 years he covered high school and college sports—along with education, health, and community issues—for the Home News Tribune, Courier News, MyCentralJersey.com, and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey.

He later served as the network’s Rutgers men’s and women’s basketball beat writer and became a fixture on the New Jersey high school wrestling scene.

His reporting earned national recognition, including four Associated Press Sports Editors awards in investigative reporting, breaking news, news reporting, and game story writing.

In 2015 the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association named him New Jersey’s Sportswriter of the Year. The New Jersey Press Association honored him repeatedly, and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association presented him with the John Vogeding Memorial Award.

The Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey gave him its Media Award for raising public awareness of health issues affecting student-athletes.Tufaro’s most impactful journalism went beyond the scoreboard.

His extensive coverage of sudden cardiac arrest among young athletes—prompted by the 2009 deaths of Edison High School student Kittim Sherrod and South Brunswick High School student Brandon James—helped spur legislation requiring automated external defibrillators in schools and emergency action plans. Those laws later saved lives.

Mentor and Friend

Colleagues and friends repeatedly described Tufaro as someone who saw potential in others and opened doors. Keith Sargeant, whom Tufaro hired nearly three decades ago, recalled: “Greg Tufaro hired me 29 years ago, when I was still in college. …

Greg never even looked at my clips. We spent an hour talking about my blue-collar jobs. … Greg believed in me before I had much reason to believe in myself. He opened doors for me, advocated for me, challenged me, encouraged me and, more than anything, he never stopped believing in me. …

He saw something in people, gave them a chance, believed in them, and helped them become better. He cared. Deeply. And he made you feel like you mattered.”In 2021, Tufaro left journalism to serve as chief of staff to New Jersey State Senator Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. Diegnan remembered him with deep affection:

“Words cannot capture how blessed I was to be Greg Tufaro’s friend.

He was the embodiment of a kind, loving person. Greg and his daughter Marisa are smiling down from Heaven. Our prayers and thoughts are with Cyndi.

”Turning Grief into Generosity: The Marisa Tufaro Foundation

In 2017, Tufaro and his wife, Cyndi—an educator in the Edison Township Public Schools—founded the Marisa Tufaro Foundation in loving memory of their daughter Marisa, who died at age 13 after surviving six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer. Born with a complex cardiac defect, Marisa had lived a vibrant life as an honor-roll student despite years of medical challenges.

Over nearly a decade the foundation donated approximately $500,000 along with thousands of toys, coats, food items, baby supplies, school materials, and scholarships.

It supported pediatric patients and children in need across Middlesex County, awarded dozens of scholarships to high school seniors, and sent elementary and middle-school students to art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum. Local high school athletes and the broader community rallied behind the cause through events ranging from lemonade stands to the Marisa Rose Bowl and Greater Middlesex Conference tournaments.

Hands of Hope for the Community paid tribute to his partnership: “Our hearts are heavy. Greg Tufaro—devoted father and husband, longtime Middlesex County journalist, and founder of the Marisa Tufaro Foundation—has passed away, and our community has lost one of its most generous friends. …

Through the Marisa Tufaro Foundation, he sponsored more than 60 local high school athletes to take part in our Tee Off Against Hunger tournament. And as a writer, he used his voice again and again to share our mission and rally support for our neighbors. … Greg never wanted recognition for anything he did to help.

He insisted the spotlight belong to the organization and the community—never to himself. That humility was exactly what made him so extraordinary.

”On August 3, 2026, as Tufaro faced the end stage of his years-long battle with multiple myeloma, he and Cyndi announced that the foundation’s charitable mission was complete. A week later he passed away.

A Lasting Legacy

Visitation will be held Sunday, August 16, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Costello-Runyon Funeral Homes in Metuchen.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:15 a.m. on Monday, August 17, at the Cathedral of St.

Francis of Assisi in Metuchen, followed by interment at Hillside Cemetery in Metuchen.

Greg Tufaro leaves behind his wife, Cyndi; the memory of their daughter Marisa; and a wide circle of family, friends, colleagues, athletes, coaches, and community members whose lives he enriched.

He demonstrated that careful reporting, genuine mentorship, and selfless service can leave a permanent mark. In the words of those who knew him best, he made people feel they mattered—and he never stopped giving.

Rest easy, Greg. You made a difference. A Falcon Forever.