James "Greg" Bruff

MANCHESTER- James Gregory “Greg” Bruff, 44, died on Friday, July 31, 2026 at York Hospital. He was the husband of Aimee Sue (Werner) Bruff. The couple recently celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary in May. They enjoyed traveling, playing golf and board games together, and spending time with friends and family. During their relationship, Greg spontaneously adopted two pug mixes (the late, beloved Lulu and their current pet, Willow) and hosted international exchange students.

Born on December 4, 1981 in Jacksonville, NC, he was the son of James Edward “Eddie” and Linda (Slone) Bruff of Woodbridge, VA. Greg was a Senior Project Manager at Bayer for the past 7 years and previously worked at Sonoco Display and Packaging for 7 years.

Greg lived in North Yorkshire, England as a child, where his lifelong love of sports started with neighborhood cricket, football (soccer) teams, and a youth bowling league coached by his dad on the U.S. military base. After a brief time in Cary, North Carolina, he graduated from Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia in 1999 and then joined the elite Saginaw Valley State University bowling team (and studied marketing on the side). During his senior year, his team finished as the national runner-up at the Bowling Intercollegiate Team Championships. After graduating from SVSU in 2004, Greg earned an M.B.A. in Logistics from Strayer University in 2006 and moved to his wife’s hometown of York, PA in 2009.

Greg continued to bowl competitively in PA and Northern Virginia and had several notable achievements in his post-collegiate career. He secured the PBA East Regional Title in July 2012, and won multiple York County Match Play crowns, including a title defense in 2015. He captured first place in Scratch Singles and Scratch All-Events categories in a tournament while undergoing chemotherapy treatments in 2023. He rolled perfection on the bowling lanes many times, notably 28 consecutive strikes through back-to-back 300 games in a 837 series at Suburban Bowlerama in April 2024. His team’s combined 3,099 score was the second-highest recorded in the U.S. that season.

Not one to sit still, he also enjoyed the physical and mental challenges of golf and played at every opportunity. Though he bowled left-handed, he golfed right-handed, and occasionally saw success on the links, too. After playing the mini-golf course many times on family vacations during his youth, Greg shot a new course record at the Corolla Grass Course in the Outer Banks of NC in June 2021.

To Greg, the thrill of competition was not between opponents, it was against his own limits. Always seeking a new challenge, he picked up running and cycling in his late 30s and then competed in regional triathlons and challenge races. He enjoyed cards and games, liked to learn strategy and memorize odds, and loved to discover new games with his friends and family. He shared his experience by helping kids learn to bowl, coaching his peers as they played, and encouraging everyone to find the joy in challenging themselves. He had deep, lifelong friendships and strong community connections locally, throughout the country, and across the ocean in Europe and the U.K.

Greg faced his diagnosis of colorectal cancer with honesty, openness, and strength. He worked to raise awareness of the issue by speaking about his experience candidly, participating in fundraisers, and organizing the York County Open for Colorectal Cancer Awareness in 2025. He invented a personal hygiene device to help people who have ostomy bags be confident about living active lives. Please see his personal statements at StomaOnTheGo.com and YorkCountyOpen.com to learn more about Greg’s Journey.

Along with his wife, Aimee, Greg is survived by his parents; sister, Annette (Lesley) Bruff Liskey and her husband, Jeremy of Charlottesville, VA; niece, Rose Mae Liskey; grandmother, Carolyn Bruff of Lexington, NC; parents-in-law, Susan and David Werner; sister-in-law, Mindy Zahirovic and her husband, Senahid “Z”; numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins in PA and NC. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Hoyle Bruff and Ray and June Slone of Lexington, NC, and several aunts and uncles in the region.

A celebration of life tribute service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 8, 2026 at Heffner Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Inc., 1551 Kenneth Rd., York with Pastor Scott Lomas officiating. A visitation will be from 10-11:30 a.m. prior to the service. In tribute to Greg’s love of sports and casual style, guests are asked to wear their favorite bowling jersey, team shirt, or golf polo. The service will be live streamed around 11:30 a.m. at HeffnerCare.com on Greg’s obituary page.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Colorectal Cancer Coalition