Frank P. Addonizio, 85, of Wall, N.J., died Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012, at Jersey Shore Medical Center, surrounded by his loving family. Visiting will be Wednesday from 1 to 3 and 6 to 9 p.m. at the Orender Family Home for Funerals, 2643 Old Bridge Rd., Manasquan, N.J. 08736. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Thursday, March 1, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mark's Church, Sea Girt, N.J. A burial will follow in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Newark, NJ. . Frank was born in Newark, and was the oldest of six children. He attended West Side High School, and graduated with a degree in political science from Rutgers in Newark. Frank was an Army veteran, and was recognized at a ceremony in 2006 as the last World War II veteran working in Essex County. After his military service, he worked at his Uncle Pat's butcher shop. Frank then passed several civil service tests, and became a probation officer and then head of the State Board of Beauty Culture. This began his impressive 50-year employment with the Essex County Department of Citizen Services. Frank had a passion for politics and was elected in 1958 as councilman of the West Ward in Newark, and served until 1970. He then 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. During this time, Frank also served on the Wall Township committee from 1994 until 2002, and served as a committeeman, deputy mayor, and mayor in 1996, 1997, and 2001, and also served on the board of adjustments and the planning board for several years. Besides his passion for politics, Frank was an avid reader, enjoyed rides to the boardwalk with his dog, Rusty, spending time with his family, and bragging about his family's accomplishments. He 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 North Carolina, and their two children, Sophia and Matthew, and Gabe Addonizio of Wall; sisters, Dolly Verdi and Florence Aaronson of Wall, and numerous nieces and nephews that he adored. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Wall Community First Aid Squad, P.O. Box 166, Allenwood, N.J. 08720.
Published in Star-Ledger on February 27, 2012