Beloved Bluffton barber dies after ‘the hardest battle with colon cancer’
Joe Gancio, a husband, father , friend and namesake behind a popular pair of Bluffton barbershops, died Wednesday after “the hardest battle with colon cancer,” according to friends and family members’ social media posts .
“Words can’t express the grief and sorrow I feel for myself and our daughter as we mourn the loss of our entire world,” wrote his wife, Chelsea Gancio, in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
She shared that her husband fought “the hardest battle with Colon Cancer” and “stayed strong and fought until the very end.”
“Time is a thief and cancer isn’t fair,” she wrote. “Please pray for me and our family during this time as we try to find strength in knowing he is finally at peace and watching over us today and always.”
Why Joe Gancio started Joe’s Classic Cuts
Joe Gancio, who owned Joe’s Classic Cuts in Bluffton and Okatie, was a master barber, starting out in the industry more than 25 years ago.
It all started with his own need for a haircut, he previously said in an interview with Fox 28 Savannah. As one of four children to a single mom, he said, paying for a haircut was not an option. As he got better at cutting his own hair, he started cutting his friends’ hair. Soon enough, he said, 20 kids would line up in his backyard each day asking for one of his haircuts.
By the time he was a junior in high school, he started working at a local barbershop. He previously owned two barber shops in New York and New Jersey before moving to Bluffton with his wife, where he first opened shop in 2019.
His vision for the shop was to create a family-oriented space where customers could feel comfortable taking a load off and connecting with others while getting a haircut that made them look and feel better. And those who sat in his chair said they got that and much more.
“Joe wasn’t just my barber, he was one of the easiest guys in the world to talk to,” friend Doug Stewart Jr. wrote on Facebook. “Every time I sat in his chair, he had good advice, a humble spirit, and a heart that gave more than it ever asked for.”
“Joe had a way of lifting people up, pushing them forward, and reminding them of their purpose,” Logan Cunningham, a Beaufort County Councilman and Bluffton business owner wrote in a Facebook post. “To be around him was an absolute joy, and I’m grateful for every conversation, every laugh, and every moment of wisdom he shared.”
‘Life is too short not to absolutely love what you do’
In 2024, Joe wrote about the keys to having a thriving business in a column for the Bluffton Sun.
“Take pride in your business, after all, it’s an extension of you,” he wrote. “Enjoy your customers, have witty banter, make your presence known and never stop reinventing yourself and your business. Life is too short not to absolutely love what you do.”
The family plans to have a funeral service in Hauppauge, New York on Dec. 7 with a local memorial in Bluffton to honor Joe at a later date, Chelsea wrote.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 3:21 PM.
