John Tomasula

Born in Morristown, John was a lifelong resident of Sussex County, raised in Newton and currently resided in Hampton Township. He began his career for the Town of Newton as a 911 dispatcher and became a police officer in 1985. Over the next 15 years he assumed roles and responsibilities in all aspects of the police department which led to his promotion to Chief of Police in 2000, a role he served for 10 years before retiring in 2010. Following his retirement, he joined the Sussex County Sheriff's Office in 2014 as the Director of Communications. He was promoted to Undersheriff in 2018, a role in which he served in until his passing.

An avid outdoorsman, John enjoyed hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. He also enjoyed sports and coached T-ball, baseball, and softball. John was a member of the PBA and the Chiefs Association, as well as the founder of the Newton Police Department’s Bicycle Patrol Program, which is still used in the downtown business district.

John is survived by his wife AnnaMarie (Miller) Tomasula, whom he married in 1994; his children, Alec, Josh, and Abigail; his parents, Edward and Mary Tomasula; his siblings Michael (Kristine), Mark, Paul (Lisa), Stephen (Sherry) and Linda (Chris), many nieces and nephews; as well as 2 great nephews.

Services are private and are under the direction of the Smith-McCracken Funeral Home, 63 High Street, Newton.

Memorial donations may be made in John’s honor to PBA Local 138 (Small Fry Fishing Contest- PAL): PBA Local 138, PO Box 520, Andover, NJ 07821 (memo area: In Memory of J. Tomasula for Fishing Contest). Contact Person is President Warren Slahor. Donation that could be contributed towards an annual award in John’s name or a donation towards the funding of the yearly event.