Edward J. Cuneo, Jr.

Edward J. Cuneo, Jr. age 88 of the Braddock section of Winslow Township passed away peacefully Saturday January 18, 2025 at his home with his family by his side.

Born in Camden, N.J. he lived in Braddock for 63 years. Ed grew up in Audubon Park and attended and graduated from Gloucester Catholic High School. He attended Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee where he graduated with an English degree and played basketball.

Ed was hired by the Lower Camden County Regional High School District in 1960 and started at Edgewood High School as a history teacher the following year.

He began coaching freshman football at Edgewood but the sport in which he found his most success and passion was baseball.

Ed was named the varsity baseball coach in 1962. His baseball teams won the South Jersey Group 2 championships in 1963 and 1965. At the time there were no state championship playoffs. Ed holds the rare distinction of coaching on three Edgewood baseball championship teams as he assisted Bob Lee when the 1989 squad won the state Group 3 title. For his efforts Ed was inducted into the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.

In 1972 he was hired to be the baseball coach at the Atlantic Community College where he saw continued success in winning the junior college Region 19 championship in 1975.

At the beginning of his coaching career at Edgewood, Ed befriended George Staller of the Baltimore Orioles whom he met at a coaching clinic. The relationship enabled Ed to become an area scout for the Orioles followed by stints with the Kansas City Royals in 1969 when that franchise was formed and the Seattle Mariners in 1977 when that franchise opened. Each time Ed followed his mentor Lou Gorman as Gorman was the general manager for both franchises and took Ed and others with him when he moved.

Ed was also the head boys' basketball coach at Edgewood in 1967 and continued in that role until 1972 when he left the classroom to get his master's degree in social work, taking a year's sabbatical from the school. Ed was also the yearbook advisor and chaperoned the senior class on many trips including one to London in 1969.

Ed returned as a member of the district's Child Study Team and remained in that role until 1992 when he retired.

When not teaching, Ed was a member of the Winslow Township Board of Education and the Lower Camden County Regional Board of Education. He was also a Township Committeeman and was Mayor of Winslow Township in 1985. He was also the Director of Parks and Recreation in Winslow Township and was tabbed by Mayor Dominic Maiese to oversee the development of what today is Calabrese Park in the Cedar Brook section of the Township.

Ed was also a youth soccer and baseball coach in Winslow Township as he coached his three sons in those sports.

Ed loved the outdoors and was an avid sportsman and farmer. His marriage to Anna Mae introduced him to farming and he spent many years working with his father-in-law Sam and brothers-in-law Sam and Dave Spinella and later with his sons Ed, Mike and Chris on the farm. Ed was very popular with other farmers and his customers whether it be at a farm auction or the tailgate markets at Ventnor, Moorestown, Woodbury or West Cape May. Ed was a member of the New Jersey Farm Bureau, New Jersey Vegetable Growers Association and the Camden County Board of Agriculture along with being a liaison to various Rutgers University boards.

Ed loved to hunt, fish and trap. As a boy he spent the summers at his family home in Wildwood where he fished and crabbed and owned his own boat rental business. He also cherished spending time with his uncle Joe Cuneo hunting and fishing in the Camden and Burlington County towns that today hold housing developments.

When his boys became of age, Ed got involved again and became a member of the Clementon Gun Club and president of the New Jersey Waterfowlers Association where he helped craft rules and legislation related to waterfowling including overseeing the introduction of New Jersey's first state duck stamp. Ed also built his own boats and trained his own dogs specializing in Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.

Ed loved to turkey hunt and spent time in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York doing so. He also fished and some of his best memories included fishing for trout in Pennsylvania and salmon in upstate New York accompanied by his son Michael.

Ed was a very loyal supporter of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team and rarely missed a televised game in the last 15 years. He was fond of the Baltimore Colts and continued to support the team when it moved to Indianapolis, rarely missing a game on television.

Ed is predeceased by his wife Anna Mae (nee Spinella) and his parents Edward J. Cuneo, Sr, and Martha (nee Kyler) and two sisters Patricia DePalma and Martha Barth and his longtime companion Donna Feyen.

He is survived by his three sons, Edward J. (Teresa), Michael S. (Monica) and Christopher D. (Lisa). He will be sadly missed by his loving grandchildren, Ali Casey (Dominic), Anna Cuneo, Evan Cuneo (Haley), Austyn Cuneo, Carmine Cuneo and Angelo Cuneo as well as his great granddaughter Addison Casey.

Family and friends are invited to attend his visitation on Saturday February 8, 2025 from 9:00 - 11:00am followed by a celebration of life service at the Marinella Funeral Home 102 N Third St. Hammonton, NJ 08037. Burial will be private at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Spinella/Cuneo Scholarship c/o Lee Spinella 114 Bishop Drive Aston, PA 19014.