Anthony L. Bersani, EMT - East Brunswick, New Jersey

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Anthony L. Bersani, a newspaperman for most of his working life and a former managing editor at the Home News, died Monday, April 17, at St. Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick. He was 47.

An East Brunswick resident, Bersani died following a four-year battle with cancer.

Bersani began his career as a stringer and free-lance reporter for The Associated Press. He then worked for the Atlantic City Press and the Asbury Park Press before being named managing editor of The Home News, predecessor of today's Home News Tribune, in East Brunswick, in 1993.

Colleagues past and present described Bersani as a dedicated and thoughtful co-worker known for his effort and good words.

Gary Schoening, managing editor at the Asbury Park Press and Sunday editor during Bersani's tenure there, said despite his relative youth Bersani had a strong commitment to the traditions of newspapering.

"He was kind of an old-school journalist. He knew the history of journalism. And that's what drove him and his style," Schoening said. "He wasn't a stuffed shirt or stodgy; he was actually quite funny. This was his calling."

Schoening said Bersani could improvise . . . and did. "The planning wasn't as good in those days as it is now. We had to fly by the seat of our pants sometimes, and Tony was pretty good at that," he said.

Joan Hritz, a reporter at the Home News Tribune and a colleague of Bersani's at The Home News before it merged with The News Tribune, said Bersani's professionalism matched his warmth.

"He was a doll," Hritz said. "He was a gentleman, and a kind and thoughtful person."

Born in Philadelphia, Bersani lived there and in Elk Township, and in various towns in Atlantic, Ocean and Monmouth counties before moving to East Brunswick 10 years ago.

A 1976 graduate of Delsea Regional High School, Franklin Township (Gloucester County), he received a bachelor's degree in communications from what is now Rowan University.

After leaving The Home News, Bersani worked for Beneficial Corp., Peapack; Summit Bank, Princeton; and Dow Jones, South Brunswick. He then returned to The Associated Press as project manager, where he worked for the last 3 1/2 years.

In 2001, Bersani was diagnosed with carcinoid -- a rare form of cancer -- after an appendectomy, but continued to work, and also joined the East Brunswick Rescue Squad and became an emergency medical technician.

"He called it his mid-life crisis," Stacey Bersani, his wife of 10 years, said Monday. "Instead of getting a Corvette, he wanted to help people."

Bersani served as vice president, recording secretary and chairman of the Public Relations Committee for the squad.

Capt. Fred Beisser, who heads the East Brunswick Rescue Squad, said Bersani's good-naturedness complemented his expertise on the job.

"He was just a super guy. Everybody at the squad loved him," Beisser said. "He was a hard worker, a good EMT, and he enjoyed riding with the squad. There are not words enough to describe what kind of guy he was. It's a big loss."

Beisser said Bersani often spoke of his family, particularly of his wife and daughter.

Dick Hughes, editor of The Home News when Bersani came to the paper in 1993, said Bersani's combination of youth and dedication to the news trade helped draw younger readers.

"He brought content to the paper and a sense of what the younger readers were interested in," Hughes said from his home in West Virginia.

"Tony brought a lot of good humor to the management of the newsroom. He was always upbeat and he tried to manage on a personal level that was not intimidating but was effective. . . . The newspaper had to cover the news and cover that news well, and Tony had that sense."

Bersani was a communicant of St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church, Old Bridge. He also served as 14th District delegate to the New Jersey First Aid Council.

"What I loved best about being edited by Tony was the humor that he brought to what sometimes can be a painful process," said Jeffrey Gold, an AP reporter who worked under him at Asbury Park. "He always managed to find the light side."

Surviving are his wife, Stacey McDonnell Bersani; his daughter, Angela Bersani at home; his mother, Pauline Bersani of Elk Township; a brother, Angelo C. Bersani Jr. of Orlando, Fla., and a sister, Carolyn Ferrucci of Franklin Township (Gloucester County).

He was predeceased by his father, Angelo C. Bersani.

Friends may call from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Brunswick Memorial Home, 454 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick. Funeral services will be held at 9:45 a.m. Thursday, at the funeral home, followed by a 10:30 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Old Bridge. Entombment will follow at Holy Cross Burial Park, South Brunswick. For directions, visit http://www.brunswickmemorialhome.com/. Memorial contributions may be made to the Carcinoid Cancer Foundation, 333 Mamaroneck Ave., Suite 492, White Plains, NY 10605.

Apr 20, 2006, 06:00

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