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Coaching

Obituaries
Beloved Gym Teacher Curt Pakutka Dies In Hackettstown After Cancer Battle, 55 Beloved Gym Teacher Curt Pakutka Dies In Hackettstown After Cancer Battle, 55
Beloved Gym Teacher Curt Pakutka Dies In Hackettstown After Cancer Battle, 55 A beloved New Jersey high school teacher and coach died after a lengthy battle to esophageal cancer. Curt D. Pakutka, 55, of Mansfield Township, died on June 7, at Hackettstown Medical Center. He was a well-loved physical education and driver's education teacher, as well as occasionally teaching health, at Newton High School in Sussex County. His love for sports followed him when he became a wrestling coach for Jefferson Township in Morris County from 2004-2015 and the head coach for the Newton High School Girls softball team from 2008-2019, according to his obituary. Curt also p…

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by Jon Craig
News
'Sweet, Selfless, Always Smiling': Beloved North Jersey Educator Michael Carlucci, 57 'Sweet, Selfless, Always Smiling': Beloved North Jersey Educator Michael Carlucci, 57
'Sweet, Selfless, Always Smiling': Beloved North Jersey Educator Michael Carlucci, 57 A celebration of life for career North Jersey educator Michael Carlucci will be live-streamed later this week to what's expected to be an enormous audience. The beloved 57-year-old father of three from Verona had been swimming with his wife, Jeanene, and others on Saturday when he apparently was caught in a rip current generated by Hurricane Earl. His body was recovered after a 45-minute search. Carlucci’s funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. this Friday, Sept. 16 at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit (36 Gould Street, Verona), where he was an active parishioner. MAP: Episcopal C…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Sports
Players Mourn Sudden Loss Of Beloved NJ Football Coach Brian Meeney, 46 Players Mourn Sudden Loss Of Beloved NJ Football Coach Brian Meeney, 46
Players Mourn Sudden Loss Of Beloved NJ Football Coach Brian Meeney, 46 Take a quick look at the posts from some of Brian Meeney's current and former players and students, and the impact he made becomes obvious. "I can never repay you for everything you taught me," one wrote. "Kept me out of trouble and made sure I stayed on the path of success, I wouldn’t be where I am today if you didn’t push me the way that you did." "You believed in me," said another, "and most importantly you never gave up on me. Coach Meeney I’ll always love you you were that second father-like figure in my life." The Maywood dad suffered a massive heart attack while on his way to work o…

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by Cecilia Levine
Schools
‘Gridiron Icon’: Ramapo HS Football Coach Drew Gibbs, 59, Dies After Emergency Surgery ‘Gridiron Icon’: Ramapo HS Football Coach Drew Gibbs, 59, Dies After Emergency Surgery
‘Gridiron Icon’: Ramapo HS Football Coach Drew Gibbs, 59, Dies After Emergency Surgery The term “legend” is often too easily used, but no one who knew him -- or of him -- would dispute how precisely it fits Drew Gibbs. All of them prayed for the best after learning that the Ramapo High School coach and teacher was hospitalized with chest pains following practice on Monday. Gibbs, who was eagerly anticipating another regional championship game this Friday, died Tuesday morning. He was 59. “I am devastated this morning by the sudden passing of the amazing, caring man I had the joy of calling my brother,” Geoff Gibbs posted soon after. “I am at a complete loss for words to des…

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by Jerry DeMarco