Lori Marie Wells Cuffari, 53, of Millstone Township, died peaceably at home surrounded by family and friends on March 17, 2017, after a long and valiant battle with thyroid cancer.
Born in Port Allegany, Pa., to Charles Wells and JoAnn Kearns, Lori’s father died when she was 3 years old. Lori’s mother later remarried Charles Boller and they enjoyed a large extended family.
Lori graduated from Port Allegany High School in 1981, then attended Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, where she met her future husband, Joe Cuffari, and from which she graduated in 1985 with a BA in communications.
Joe and Lori married in 1986, the same year Lori was first hired as a newspaper sales representative. She worked for the Home News in New Brunswick and for the Asbury Park Press, remaining at the Press for many years and dedicating herself fully to the paper and its staff, mentoring and training much of its sales force.
Her managerial career eventually brought her to the Trentonian and Greater Media Newspapers, until she began working in 2006 for MediaMax Network, which specializes in regional advertising in Condé Nast magazines.
Lori was extremely well respected and liked in all her positions, a testament to her consummate professionalism and ceaseless integrity.
Lori was a person of great faith who devoted much love and time to her church family at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Freehold Borough, especially her “Church Chicks” group — an altruistic force to be reckoned with.
Her constant kindness and selflessness helped so many people in their struggles, even when she herself was struggling with her health.
A gifted singer who sang in school bands and for her church’s praise band, Peter’s Rock, Lori was passionate about music and attended countless concerts with her husband and friends.
She loved to entertain at her home and was always the “life of the party” at gatherings.
A proud mother who cherished her two amazing children, daughter Hannah and son Paul, Lori strove for their success in all of her endeavors and marveled at their own musical prowess.
She actively advocated for cancer research, speaking at conferences with her renowned oncologist, Marcia Brose, MD, and charging Capitol Hill in the fall of 2015 with the American Association for Cancer Research on behalf of cancer research funding for the National Institutes of Health.
She was featured in commercials and promotional videos for two different cancer research firms, and her picture graced billboards in Philadelphia to promote the causes she held so dear.
Lori was loved by many and will be missed by all who knew her. She is survived by her best friend and husband, Joe Cuffari; her children, Hannah and Paul; her mother, JoAnn Boller of Greenville, Pa.; her sister Debbie Anderson, brother-in-law Jim, and nephew Josh of Ruston, La.; her sister Julie James, brother-in-law Jeff, nieces Maura and Lauren, and nephew Ross of Hermitage, Pa.; her sister Marcia Reynolds and brother-in-law Sean of Glen Mills, Pa.; and her brother Paul Boller and sister-in-law Sue Wenner of Kenneth City, Fla.
A celebration of Lori’s life will take place on April 8, 2017, at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Freehold Borough, at 11 a.m. (casual attire preferred).
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested gifts to be made in her memory to either the Thyroid Cancer Research Program at Penn Medicine or the AACR, as follows:
Make check out to Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and mail to Katie Dewees Detzel, Penn Medicine Development Office, 3535 Market St., Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Make donations at www.aacrfoundation.org (where the Donate Today link lets you make a memorial gift in Lori’s name) or make check out to AACR Foundation. Indicate Lori’s name in the memo line and mail to AACR Foundation, 615 Chestnut St., 17th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106.
