Anthony Ritter Loftus

Anthony Ritter Loftus, born in Raleigh, N.C., on April 20, 1969, was the youngest child and only son of James Francis Loftus (b. 1927, Syracuse, N.Y.) and Cornelia Turner Loftus (b. 1927, Washington, D.C.).

Known to family and friends as Tony, he grew up in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, and Florida before returning to Raleigh, N.C., where he spent his adult life. Even as a toddler, Tony was fascinated with wheels, tires, and vehicles that traverse land, sea, and sky. He grew up in an airline family: Dad worked for B-O-A-C (British Overseas Airways Corporation) and its successor British Airways, and Dad’s many British colleagues had past experience in the RAF and early commercial airflight, all of which was inspiring to Tony.

A lifelong aviation buff, Tony could identify any plane he saw or heard in the sky, and he worked for several years with Midway Airlines and later in Airfield Maintenance at Raleigh-Durham Airport. He rode motorbikes, went scuba diving in Guam, traveled in England and France, avidly read about World War II history, and loved the New York Mets and the Baltimore Ravens.

In 2019, he underwent treatment for uveal (ocular) melanoma, a very rare form of cancer that metastasized to his liver in July 2023. Due to recently developed treatments at Duke Cancer Center, Tony was able to live and work for another two years, going to the job he loved at RDU and enjoying life as much as possible. He endured cancer treatment with grace, patience, grit, optimism, and humor, and was always more concerned about others than himself. Tony was still working full-time until two weeks before he passed away on July 26, 2025, at the age of 56.

He is survived by his sisters Kelley Stephanie Loftus (b. 1957) and Erin Valerie Loftus (b. 1958), and Kelley’s husband David Lee Miller (b. 1954), who will love and miss him always. He will also be fondly remembered and missed by his many cousins in the Turner, Lupton, Loftus, and Speidel families.

Tony is also mourned by Cindy Jo McGhee (b. 1961), to whom he was a loyal and loving longtime partner, and her children, Jessie Marie Reece Kaufman (b.1983), Gabrielle Lucinda Reece (1989-2009), and Shane Norman Reece (b. 1984).