Obituary

Date of Passing: Dec 18, 2016

JEFFREY DAVID NEWFIELD (SCRUFF CONNORS) We are sad to announce Jeffrey’s sudden passing on Sunday, December 18, 2016 at the age of 64. He leaves behind his son Tyler (Chelsea); granddaughter Berkeley; parents, Harvey and Donna Newfield; siblings, Robert (Cindy), Todd (Sheryl), Joanne (Tom) and numerous nieces and nephews. A private service will be held at a later date.

As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 24, 2016

Bio

Much of what follows is quoted or summarized from Wikipedia’s entry on Scruff.

Radio Career:

• 1980 – 1985: Q107, Toronto
• late 1980s: WYSP, Philadelphia
• 1989-1992: CHTZ-FM, St. Catharines, Ontario
• August – October 1992: CFBR-FM, Edmonton
• January 1993 – July 1994: Q107, Toronto
• July 1994 – 1995: CJKR-FM Winnipeg
• 2001-July 2005: CFMJ (MOJO), Toronto

Scruff’s time in Edmonton at CFRN’s FM station, The Bear, came to a premature end when a listener sought revenge for an on-air prank by charging Scruff with assault. Scruff remained off the air through the entire legal process which eventually found him innocent, but the stress was just too much for him and Q107 was glad to get him back in Toronto.

On December 18, 2016, Newfield was traveling on a train and suffered a massive heart attack. The train made an unscheduled stop and he died in an ambulance en route to hospital. Connors was also dealing with complications from bladder cancer which he fought off-and-on for more than a decade. He was 64.