Former Mayor Dante Massa Remembered By Howell Council

HOWELL, NJ — Dante "Dan" Massa, a former mayor of Howell who died Jan. 26, was remembered and honored by the Howell Township Council with a proclamation this week.

Massa was mayor in 1973 and 1988, deputy mayor and police commissioner, among many other roles in the township, said Deputy Mayor Evelyn O'Donnell at the Township Council meeting on Tuesday.

"He was a huge contributor," she said, in many ways - not only to his community but to his family.

O'Donnell added that Massa, 85, gave over 20 years of his life to community service, and did so modestly, not taking credit for his accomplishments. And the event joined members of both political parties in praising Massa, a Democrat.

Councilwoman Sue Fischer read into the record the proclamation, with Massa's family members in attendance, offering condolences to them and acknowledging his contributions. You can see the presentation on video.

You can also view an obituary with information about how to donate in the former mayor's memory to causes meaningful to him.

The proclamation made reference to Massa's many different contributions, including his Booster News column "Here's Danny," that "brought joy" to readers. He was a co-owner of the publication.

He also convinced the U.S. Postal Service to give Howell its own Zip code, and he was instrumental in the development of the Howell Police Department.

Dan Massa, one of the elder Massa's three sons (Dante, Michael and Craig), addressed the public and said his father "truly loved this town," where he moved from Bergen County to a home in Candlewood in 1966 - where he still lived.

There were "far more farms than shopping centers then," he recalled. You can see his full comments after the proclamation was read on the recording of the Township Council meeting.

He said Massa ran for the then-Township Committee in 1970 and won - much to his surprise. He was instrumental in creating the first Howell Day and in obtaining lights for the Howell High School football field, as well as organizing the Senior Citizens Club.

He recalled a story in which he met a woman who encountered his father years before while on a school trip to the Howell Township municipal building, then on Preventorium Road.

She fainted on the trip, then woke up to see Massa holding her head and giving her water when she revived.

Someone told her, "That was the mayor who helped you."

"It's the little things we do every day - even for stranger," he said, that people will remember - just as she remembered his father.