Longtime News Journal editor Jason Levine died Thursday from complications of cystic fibrosis.

He was 46.

The father of two enjoyed a nearly 25-year career in journalism, most of which was spent at Delaware's largest newspaper where he oversaw sports coverage and the opinion pages.

"Jason could do almost anything in our business – from writing and editing to designing pages and posting stories on to our website and social media," said News Journal Executive Editor David Ledford. "We already miss his laugh, his intellect and his great big heart."

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Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Levine loved to think of himself as a southerner even though he grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northeastern University in Boston.

He landed his first job in 1994 as a page designer and copy editor for Middlesex News, now called MetroWest Daily News, in Framingham, Massachusetts.

He was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was a year old, at a time when most children with the disease did not live much past 6. He underwent a double lung transplant in 1996 and was expected to live for less than a decade.

Soon after his transplant, he met Allison Taylor, whom he married on April 17, 1999.

"He joked he would always remember [our wedding date] because it was the same day Donovan McNabb was drafted by the Eagles," Allison wrote in an email.

Former News Journal sports editor Ron Fritz said hiring Levine as a page designer and copy editor in 1998 was an easy decision.

"He was one of the best all-around journalists I've ever seen," said Fritz, now the executive sports editor at the Baltimore Sun. "But, as I found out, he was an even better person."

Fritz recalled weeks of ice skating lessons that Levine – a former ice hockey player and avid Boston Bruins fan – provided during their lunch hours as part of the older editor's bid to impress his wife for Valentine's Day.

"He showed incredible patience and eventually got me to the point where I could get around the rink," Fritz said. "He just couldn't teach me how to stop."

Allison Taylor Levine said her husband taught himself how to ice skate as a child by roller skating in the basement of his family's home.

"He could roller skate and ice skate better than he could walk," she said.

As sports editor, Levine spent 11 years managing a staff of full-time reporters, as well as a roster of freelance writers. In 2015, his duties were expanded to include The News Journal's opinion pages, a job that included writing editorials and maintaining a steady flow of guest columnists.

"Jason steered us through some incredible changes in media over the last decade or so, from the web to video," said Kevin Tresolini, a News Journal sports writer since 1981. "But he always kept his cool and made sure we covered our bases, all while juggling the editorial pages, too."

News Journal sports reporter Brad Myers said Levine was unflappable.

"He was the calmest person on deadline I've ever known," he said. "He thrived on it."

Along with his editorial page duties, Levine organized The News Journal's annual Delaware Sports Awards banquet, a celebration of the state's top high school athletes headlined by the likes of former Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt and former Eagles long snapper Jon Dorenbos.

"He knew everything and anything about sports," Allison said, adding that he and their son Rhys, 16, played a game they called "Stump Dad."

"Rhys would try to come up with sports trivia questions that he couldn't answer," she said.

He was a longtime volunteer with New Castle Little League, serving as a coach, umpire, board member and communications director.

"He treated everyone fairly and always had the children's best interests in mind with any decision he made," league president Joe DiStefano said through tears. "He was the kind of guy who would go out on a limb for others and was always willing to help in any way he could."

Levine also coached his son's basketball team and the soccer teams of Rhys and his daughter Maya, 13.

"Next to being a husband and dad, Jason loved his career more than anything," Allison said. "He loved the atmosphere of the newsroom, the writing, engaging with the public, constantly learning and working with people who were as passionate about the news as he was."

Kevin Charles, retired executive director of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association, spoke highly of Levine's focus as a professional.

"I always thought Jason's heart, in terms of high school sports and paying attention to the good stuff, was in the right place," he said. "Jason was always interested in the positive side of things."

As an example, Charles lauded The News Journal's coverage of the new Unified Flag Football program, a collaboration between DIAA and Special Olympics Delaware, two years ago.

"That doesn't happen unless your sports editor wants it to," Charles said. "The kind of coverage we received on that reflected how much Jason valued all of the good things about interscholastic athletics."

A celebration of Levine's life will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Cab Calloway School of the Arts, 100 N. Dupont Road, in Wilmington. Visitation and funeral arrangements are still being planned.

In addition to his wife, and children, Levine is survived by his father Charles and mother Marjorie, of Linwood, New Jersey; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.