John Fiorillo, a devoted public servant, healthcare strategist, and award-winning playwright, passed away peacefully on December 23, 2025, at the age of 82. He died in Lenox, Massachusetts, just five months after the passing of his beloved wife, Anita Pitney Fiorillo. The two shared 56 years of marriage, homes in New York City and Chatham, NY, and a life rich in love, intellect, service, and adventure.

Born in the Bronx, New York City in 1943, John dedicated his career to improving lives through public policy, healthcare reform, and later, the arts. He began in the Executive Office of the President, serving as one of the original field officers for President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty. He went on to hold senior leadership roles with the City of New York under Mayor John Lindsay, the Columbia University Medical Center, the American Health Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where he served as Senior Advisor from 1998 to 2002. In 1982, he founded The Health Strategy Group Inc., a healthcare consulting firm that advised over 200 public- and private-sector organizations. John was committed to service by serving in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.

John was also a gifted storyteller. After a successful career in public health strategy, he returned to his first love: theater. His early backstage work began as a teenage electrician at Carousel, the original production of The Fantasticks, and the New York Shakespeare Festival. Later, he became a playwright, writing more than 15 full-length and one-act plays, performed across the U.S. and in London. His historically-inspired Leonardo and the intimate Dancing Backwards, which explored aging and caregiving, were among his proudest works. His writing earned awards from the Ashland New Play Festival, Hudson Showcase Theater, and others. He was a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Playwrights and Directors Unit of the Actors Studio, and co-directed Plays in Progress in New York's Hudson Valley.

John received a B.A. in English, Drama, and Political Science from New York University in 1963 and earned an A.M. in Economic History and American Civilization from Brown University in 1964. He remained deeply curious and intellectually engaged throughout his life. He found joy in storytelling, spirited debate, political discourse, jazz, the theater, and long conversations with friends and family. He loved fishing, playing the piano, and supporting many causes through his charitable giving. John and Anita established a family foundation, Pockets of Change, to support nonprofits in Africa, Latin America and across the United States. They also endowed an internship at Connecticut College for the Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts.

He is survived by his daughter, Alexandra D. Fiorillo of Denver, Colorado, and his granddaughter, Matilda "Tilly" Fiorillo, both of whom he adored.

In lieu of flowers, donations in John's memory may be made to the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen: https://columbiacountyrecoverykitchen.org/how-to-donate/. Condolences may be conveyed at frenchblasl.com