Edward (Ed) Jerome Kleifgen, beloved husband to Julia Lisella, and devoted father of Renata Kleifgen and Carl Kleifgen, dear friend and colleague to many, left our world too soon, dying at peace after a brave struggle with stage 4 lung cancer, on February 11, 2025 at Mass General Hospital. He was 68.
Born in Paterson, New Jersey, to Jerome and Marie (Odorisio) Kleifgen, he spent his youth in New Jersey in Fair Lawn and then Parsippany, before moving with the family to Long Island, New York, where he formed many of the close friendships that sustained him into adulthood. While sharing a student house in Stony Brook (he was finishing his bachelors in psychology), he met his future wife. Julia and Edward moved in together after college and married in 1987.
After college, they lived in Astoria, New York, and Ed pursued his graduate degree in Public Administration at Baruch College. He began his career in New York City’s Office of the Mayor, coordinating youth services, and later as District Manager for Community Board 4 in Manhattan, one of the most dynamic community boards in the city, which covered the Chelsea and Clinton communities and was undergoing dramatic changes. There he coordinated services in public health, education, community development, housing, and youth services for local communities. Ed and Julia ventured to Massachusetts in 1990 for Julia to pursue a doctorate at Tufts and for the couple to start a family, settling in Medford where they remained these past 33 years.
This past year Ed was retired after serving for nearly nine years as Executive Administrative Dean with the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Prior to that, Ed held long-term senior administrative positions at Harvard University at the Schools of Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, as well as at several foundations and non-profits. Throughout his career he was known as a collaborative leader who could manage large organizations while at the same time, attend to each individual who worked with him. He believed a strong organization was one in which each person felt valued for their contributions and he believed in drawing out each person’s talent on his team. He was kind and generous with his colleagues, and an excellent listener as well as a great storyteller.
In addition to the joy and pride he brought to his professional life, Ed was an incredibly creative person with varied interests and talents. He played the guitar and had an eclectic taste and passion for music of all kinds, from the Grateful Dead to Bach and Coltrane. He delved into pottery and made exquisite pieces. But he could just as easily apply that passion and creativity to making his family and friends an incredible meal. He loved his job, and also loved being retired. He understood the joy of being in the moment and would often remind those around him “that every day was a gift” and indeed, being in Ed’s presence was one of the best gifts of all.
He says that it was early in his years in Massachusetts that he “converted” to a Boston Red Sox fan and remained so: Fenway was packed with Yankees fans and he felt rooting for the Red Sox was just the right thing to do! Over the years, Ed and Julia and the children spent many summer weeks in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. He felt most alive there near the ocean, grilling bluefish, walking the many beaches, swimming in the ponds, trying new hikes.
In addition to his wife and children he is survived by his sisters, Lori Kleifgen and Jean Kleifgen Guli (Sal Guli) and predeceased by his brother Don Kleifgen. He also leaves behind many beloved nieces and nephews, and his dear sisters- and brothers-in law, and many dear friends and colleagues.
In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to Cancer Support Community Massachusetts https://www.cancersupportmass.org or SightLife https://cureblindness.org/who-we-are/sightlife (in 2019 Edward benefited from a corneal transplant in both eyes which he considered a modern medical miracle.)
His life and spirit will be celebrated at a Memorial Service at Grace Episcopal Church at 160 High Street in Medford, Saturday March 1 at 3PM, followed by a reception.