Bruce Avery, longtime Hofstra radio manager and News 12 meteorologist, dies at 69
Bruce Avery, a longtime general manager of Hofstra University’s WRHU-88.7 FM and a former meteorologist at News 12 Long Island, died Saturday at his home in Ridge at the age of 69.
The cause was prostate cancer, said his wife Veronica Dillon.
Avery, who retired from 28-year leadership of WRHU last August, helped launch the college radio station, which has won a plethora of National Association of Broadcasters awards over the past eight years, including four Marconi awards the New York State Broadcasters Association and the Press Club of Long Island.
His former students described him as a father figure who accompanied them not only in their career choices but also in life’s milestones.
“Bruce has changed the lives of probably thousands of students,” said Heather Cohen, vice president for programs on the executive committee of Hofstra University’s alumni organization. “He was simply responsible for shaping the lives of so many.”
Part of his legacy is the community he fostered during his nearly three decades at WRHU, said John Santucci, an executive editorial producer at ABC News who graduated in 2011.
“He’s stitched together a web of students over the generations, some of whom have become friends, many of whom have become colleagues in our business,” Garden City’s Santucci said.
Tim Scheld, chairman of the Radio Television Digital News Association and former WCBS news director, said WRHU has an excellent reputation in the industry.
“It has always had a reputation for producing some of the best young journalists in the field and even in the country,” Scheld said. “That’s because of the work Bruce and others have done over the years.”
In a video the university created in 2009 to celebrate WRHU’s 50th anniversary, Avery recounted the station’s growth over the years since 1994, the year he became general manager. The student staff grew from seven in June to 220, to 30 community volunteers and a waiting list of 300 students in 2009.
“Our goal is to encourage people who attend WRHU to go into industry and have productive and successful careers,” he said at the time.
Aside from getting the students professionally fit, his former students said that Avery cared deeply about their well-being and got in touch with them long after they graduated.
Danielle Dellilo, who graduated in 2001 and works for iHeartRadio, said Avery helped her get through her father’s death when she was 20.
“He was always there, in good times and bad,” said Dellilo of Long Beach. “Every time I got a new job or went to an audition, I would call him and say, ‘Hey, Papa Bruce, I just got this audition and I have this job.’ … And he was like, ‘I knew you could do that.’”
Avery was born on May 30, 1953 in Watertown, Massachusetts to Austin and Marion (Smith) Avery. The family later moved to Connecticut, where he graduated from Glastonbury High School in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Emerson College in Boston, his wife said.
Avery worked as a meteorologist for television stations in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The job at Hofstra brought him to Long Island, his wife said.
Avery has represented meteorologists at News 12 Long Island for two decades since the late 1990s, his former colleagues said.
“He had great authority and broke down complicated weather terms into layman’s language,” said Drew Scott, a NewsdayTV freelance host/reporter and former News 12 host.
“It was always delivered with a smile and great warmth,” Scott said.
In addition to his wife, Avery is survived by daughter Rachel Avery Conley of Glastonbury, Connecticut, son Marcus Avery of Middletown, Connecticut, stepdaughter Katilyn Bifulco of Brentwood, stepson Zachary Bifulco of Cape Coral, Florida, brother Roger Avery of Cumberland, Rhode Island , and grandson Lucas Conley of Glastonbury, Connecticut.
A service will be held Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a 4:00 p.m. eulogy at the Branch Funeral Home at 551 Route 25A in Miller Place.
In lieu of flowers, his family is asking for donations to Hofstra University’s Bruce Avery Endowed Scholarship Fund.
Bruce Avery, a longtime general manager of Hofstra University’s WRHU-88.7 FM and a former meteorologist at News 12 Long Island, died Saturday at his home in Ridge at the age of 69.
The cause was prostate cancer, said his wife Veronica Dillon.
Avery, who retired from 28-year leadership of WRHU last August, helped launch the college radio station, which has won a plethora of National Association of Broadcasters awards over the past eight years, including four Marconi awards the New York State Broadcasters Association and the Press Club of Long Island.
His former students described him as a father figure who accompanied them not only in their career choices but also in life’s milestones.
“Bruce has changed the lives of probably thousands of students,” said Heather Cohen, vice president for programs on the executive committee of Hofstra University’s alumni organization. “He was simply responsible for shaping the lives of so many.”
Part of his legacy is the community he fostered during his nearly three decades at WRHU, said John Santucci, an executive editorial producer at ABC News who graduated in 2011.
“He’s stitched together a web of students over the generations, some of whom have become friends, many of whom have become colleagues in our business,” Garden City’s Santucci said.
Tim Scheld, chairman of the Radio Television Digital News Association and former WCBS news director, said WRHU has an excellent reputation in the industry.
“It has always had a reputation for producing some of the best young journalists in the field and even in the country,” Scheld said. “That’s because of the work Bruce and others have done over the years.”
In a video the university created in 2009 to celebrate WRHU’s 50th anniversary, Avery recounted the station’s growth over the years since 1994, the year he became general manager. The student staff grew from seven in June to 220, to 30 community volunteers and a waiting list of 300 students in 2009.
“Our goal is to encourage people who attend WRHU to go into industry and have productive and successful careers,” he said at the time.
Aside from getting the students professionally fit, his former students said that Avery cared deeply about their well-being and got in touch with them long after they graduated.
Danielle Dellilo, who graduated in 2001 and works for iHeartRadio, said Avery helped her get through her father’s death when she was 20.
“He was always there, in good times and bad,” said Dellilo of Long Beach. “Every time I got a new job or went to an audition, I would call him and say, ‘Hey, Papa Bruce, I just got this audition and I have this job.’ … And he was like, ‘I knew you could do that.’”
Avery was born on May 30, 1953 in Watertown, Massachusetts to Austin and Marion (Smith) Avery. The family later moved to Connecticut, where he graduated from Glastonbury High School in 1971. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Emerson College in Boston, his wife said.
Avery worked as a meteorologist for television stations in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The job at Hofstra brought him to Long Island, his wife said.
Avery has represented meteorologists at News 12 Long Island for two decades since the late 1990s, his former colleagues said.
“He had great authority and broke down complicated weather terms into layman’s language,” said Drew Scott, a NewsdayTV freelance host/reporter and former News 12 host.
“It was always delivered with a smile and great warmth,” Scott said.
In addition to his wife, Avery is survived by daughter Rachel Avery Conley of Glastonbury, Connecticut, son Marcus Avery of Middletown, Connecticut, stepdaughter Katilyn Bifulco of Brentwood, stepson Zachary Bifulco of Cape Coral, Florida, brother Roger Avery of Cumberland, Rhode Island , and grandson Lucas Conley of Glastonbury, Connecticut.
A service will be held Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a 4:00 p.m. eulogy at the Branch Funeral Home at 551 Route 25A in Miller Place.
In lieu of flowers, his family is asking for donations to Hofstra University’s Bruce Avery Endowed Scholarship Fund.
Dandan Zou reports on education for Newsday. She previously worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, DC
