Retired Kearny Police Department Sgt. Peter J. Gleason, 56, of Rutherford, died Feb 12, 2026 at home.
Born and raised in Kearny, Peter attended St. Cecilia Grammar School, Kearny High School and William Paterson College where he was a proud member of the TKE fraternity.
Visiting will be Monday, Feb. 16 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Armitage & Wiggins Funeral Home, 596 Belgrove Drive, Kearny. A funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Stephen’s Church, Kearny. Private cremation will follow.
Peter married Meghan Reilly of Kearny in August 2003 at which time they moved to Rutherford and raised their sons, Reilly and Dylan, who were his pride and joy.
Peter pursued his calling into law enforcement and after graduating from the Hudson County Police Academy, Jersey City, began his career with the Hudson County Sheriff’s Department in 1995, followed by his appointment to the Kearny Police Department in 1996 where he served in Patrol, the Warrant Squad, the VICE Unit, was promoted to sergeant and ultimately retired after 27 years of service in June 2022.
Peter was pre-deceased by his parents, Edmund and Mary Gleason, brothers, Michael (Michelle) and Brian (Huynmi) and father-in-law, Frank Reilly. Peter is survived by his wife of 23 years, Meghan, sons Reilly and Dylan, siblings Ann Dowie (John), Kathleen Dwiatek (Richard), Thomas Gleason (Laura) mother-in-law Kathleen Reilly, and sister-in-law, Robin Reilly, along with many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and colleagues.
Peter enjoyed working on his classic cars, deep-sea fishing with friends, rooting for the NY Giants but mostly he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends and will be deeply missed.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Tomorrow”s Children’s Fund (tcfkid.org).
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.