Anthony Tucci

Tucci won numerous awards for his reporting and was nominated twice by his newspaper for a Pulitzer Prize in the 1970s. He won the Cleveland Newspaper Guild’s Heywood Broun Award in 1975 for a series on campaign financing. His stories on government corruption resulted in convictions of a number of city officials, and a series on credit union fraud prompted the state to make numerous changes in credit union laws.

As city editor, Tucci helped produce the first Sunday edition of The Press. In 1981, the paper won Ohio UPI’s General Excellence Award.

In Austin, Tucci continued his investigative reporting at the Austin American-Statesman and later as editor of a weekly newspaper. His stories detailing conflicts of interest by an Austin mayor resulted in ethics charges and the mayor’s defeat. He then went to work for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and continued to win awards, including two first-place awards from the Association for Conservation Information in 1994 for articles on parks and the environment.

After retirement, Tucci continued to work part-time for several publications. A series of articles exposed the danger of cancer-causing coal tar paving sealants on parking lots and school playgrounds and resulted in the schools removing the toxic substance.

Tucci had a lifelong interest in the outdoors, and loved to camp, hike, fish and golf.

He was born in Corry, PA, on October 30, 1941 to Sarah and Anthony Tucci. He attended Duquesne University School of Journalism for two years. Forced to drop out of school for financial reasons, Tucci attended night schools over the years and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature in 1990, shortly after his 49th birthday.

Survivors include his wife, Kathleen; three children by his first wife Maxine Baker,Tammy Dickard (Jeff) of Kirtland, Ohio, David Tucci (Meagan) of Austin,TX, and Adam Tucci (Vicky) of Parker, CO; three stepchildren, Matthew Venable (Beth) of Houston, TX, Sara Reilly (Sean) of Boerne, TX, and Amy Aylsworth of Blanco, TX; 10 grandchildren, Sara, Jessica, Anthony, Alison, Rachel, Amber, Adalyn, Kiara, Jack, and Fordie; and a great-grandson, Greyson. He is also survived by his brothers, Louis Tucci of Greentown, PA, and Leonard Tucci (Jane) of Corry, PA, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, March 5 at 3:00 P.M. at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Boerne, Texas. The Rite of Committal will be in the Boerne Cemetery following the Mass.