Funeral Services Set For Former Brick AD Bill Bruno

BRICK, NJ — Funeral services for Bill Bruno, who was an athletic director in the Brick Township School District for a dozen years and a fixture in high school track and field throughout New Jersey, have been set for Wednesday and Thursday.

Visitation for Bruno, who died Saturday at 68, will be held at the Buckley Funeral Home in Asbury Park, according to his obituary on the funeral home website.

"Bill was a teacher, coach, and athletic administrator who touched the lives of so many students, athletes, teachers, coaches, officials and fellow administrators over the course of his magnificent career from 1976 to 2021," his obituary said.

Tributes and condolences for Bruno's family poured in from across New Jersey's athletic circles on Saturday after his wife, Jeannette, announced his passing. Read more: Mentor, True Friend: Ex-Brick Athletic Director Bill Bruno Dies

It was a career that included teaching stops at Manalapan High School; at Christian Brothers Academy, where Bruno was an alumnus; Asbury Park High School, where his father, Butch, had been the football coach from 1946-65; and at Pinelands Regional High School in Little Egg Harbor, where he was named the 1998 Ocean County Teacher of the Year. It also included time as the athletic director at Marlboro High School and Howell High School before his time in the Brick schools.

And it included years of coaching. He coached football at Manalapan and Pinelands, but track and field was where his teams had their greatest success. In his track and field coaching career, at CBA, Manalapan and Pinelands, he had teams that were undefeated, won leagues, divisions and Shore Conference championships. His athletes at CBA and Pinelands each took home gold medals at the Penn Relays.

He also led the effort to add six wheelchair events to the NJSIAA spring track championships.

His work with student-athletes earned him a host of awards and honors, including induction into the coaching halls of fame for Pinelands Regional, Christian Brothers Academy, the Shore Conference, and the NJSIAA/New Jersey Scholastic Coaches.

That work continued when he went to work for the NJSIAA in 2015, where he was "tasked with overseeing the state’s cross country, winter and spring track seasons and was the meet director for each sports championship. He led NJSCA coaches’ clinics and Hall of Fame luncheons. He was a representative, member, director, presenter, instructor, & mentor for numerous programs in the State. Bill proposed and secured approval for girls wrestling in NJ. He received the NIAAA-Certificate of Appreciation and the Shore Chapter of the NJSIAA Wrestling Association Man of the Year," his obituary said.

Outside of high school athletics, Bruno had a passion for the Miami Dolphins and The Who, whom he saw in concert 50 times, his obituary said.

A social studies teacher, Bruno loved history and his passion for it included participating in Civil War reenactments and also volunteering at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota from 2005 through 2018; he earned a National Park Service volunteer certificate for logging 500 hours of service.

In addition to his wife, Bruno is survived by sons Kyle and Eric Bruno, stepsons Cole and CJ Cameron, and CJ's wife Alicia and granddaughter, Brielle; and siblings Peter, Jimmy, Kathy Celli and Mary Pat Napolitano.

Visitation is Wednesday from 1-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at the Buckley Funeral Home, 509 Second Ave. Asbury Park. The funeral Mass is set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Asbury Park.

In lieu of flowers, Bruno's family requested donations to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.