Remembering the Life of Former Mayor Frank Addonizio

Longtime Wall Township committeeman and former Mayor Frank P. Addonizio died Saturday at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. He was 85.

Addonizio served on the Wall Township Committee from 1994 to 2002 and served in numerous capacities as a committeeman, deputy mayor and mayor – a post which he held in 1996, 1997 and 2001. Addonizio also was a member of the Board of Adjustment and the Planning Board for several years.

Addonizio’s son, Ralph, currently serves on the . Ralph’s wife, Hilary, is a teacher in the Wall Township School District and an active community volunteer.

John Devlin, who served with Addonizio on the Township Committee, had high praise for the former mayor.

"He was a 24/7 Wall Township guy,'' Devlin said. "He loved Wall Township and even after he served (on the committee) he was still involved in the community.''

Devlin, the only Democrat serving on the committee during Addonizio's tenure, said the former mayor was the first person to approach him once after his election.

"He really embraced me, tried to help me out,'' Devlin said. "That's the kind of guy he was.''

Current members of the Township Committee on Monday expressed their sympathies to the Addonizio family and recalled the life of Frank Addonizio with reverence and respect.

“Frank Addonizio was a great mayor and a personal friend of mine,’’ said Mayor Jeff Foster. “He was a great guy. It’s a sad passing, and we’ll miss him.’’

“Frank played a very large part in Wall Township politics, and he will be greatly missed,’’ said Committeeman Clinton Hoffman.

Adonizio, who was employed with the Essex County Department of Citizen Services for 50 years, got his first experience with public office in 1958 when he was elected as councilman of Newark’s West Ward, where he served until 1970. He went on to work for the fraud unit of the Essex County Welfare Board in Newark where he retired in 2007 as the assistant chief investigator, according to his obituary.

Addonizio, the eldest of six, was born in Newark. He attended West Side High School and graduated with a degree in political science from Rutgers, according to his obituary.

Addonizio was a Army veteran and was recognized at a ceremony in 2006 as the last WWII veteran working in Essex County. Following military service, he worked at a relative’s butcher shop before becoming a probation officer and head of the State Board of Beauty Culture, the obituary says.

Addonizio was predeceased by his parents, Ralph and Mary Addonizio; his sister, Rozlyn Mazzarella; his brothers, Prisco and Ralph Addonizio; and former wife, Eileen Addonizio. Surviving are his sons Ralph Addonizio and his wife Hilary of Wall; Frank Addonizio and his wife Carrye of NC and their 2 children Sophia and Matthew; Gabe Addonizio of Wall; sisters: Dolly Verdi and Florence Aaronson of Wall; and numerous nieces and nephews, according to the obituary.

Visitation is scheduled Wednesday, from 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. at the Orender Family Home for Funerals, 2643 Old Bridge Road. A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Thursday, March 1, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mark's Church, Sea Girt, with a burial to follow at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Newark.

For further information or to send condolences to the family, please visit www.orenderfamilyhome.com. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to , PO Box 166 Allenwood, NJ 08720.