CUCCI, ANTHONY

A funeral mass is scheduled for March 4 at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Rosary Church, Jersey City, for Anthony R. Cucci, 92. The former mayor, Downtown councilman, and decorated war hero, passed away Thursday at Jersey City Medical Center.
Cucci was a Jersey City native. He was born on Aug. 8, 1922, the fourth of five children. He was raised in the Village section of the Downtown, attending School 5 and Dickinson High School.
He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1943 and served as a paratrooper. He fought at the Battle of Iwo Jima, and was awarded a Purple Heart.
“I know I speak for the entire city when I say that we extend our thoughts, prayers, and everlasting appreciation to the Cucci family for Mayor Cuuci’s service to our city,” said Mayor Steven M. Fulop. “He was a fellow Marine who loved Jersey City and loved this country. While encouraging me to run for mayor, he was also quick to point out what I could do better and for that I am thankful to have known him.”
A school teacher, he was elected to the City Council representing Ward E in 1977. He ran for mayor in 1981 but lost to Gerald McCann. Cucci ran again in 1985 and unseated McCann.
Cucci married his wife, Anna, less than two weeks after that victory. She was killed on Dec. 1, 1988, during a trip to Peru when the train the couple was traveling on derailed and plunged 200 feet into a ravine. Authorities later called the accident an act of sabotage. The mayor of Cuzco, Jersey City’s sister city in Peru, had received death threats from the Maoist Shining Path guerrilla group, which had been seeking to overthrow the Peruvian government. The council chambers on the second floor of City Hall were later named after Anna Cucci.
After losing re-election to McCann in 1989, Cucci returned to the council as an at-large councilman in November 1992 after the death of Efrain Rosario. He was subsequently elected three times to the school board.
Cucci’s wake will be held on Monday and Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Greenville Memorial Home, 375 Danforth Ave. In lieu of flowers, his family has asked for contributions in his name to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas, 66675, or the National Centre for Padre Pio Shrine, PO Box 206, Barto, Penn., 19504.
Services arranged by the Greenville Memorial Home, Jersey City