Dr. Frank A. Calabria, who served on the Parsippany board of education for more than 40 years, died on Feb. 2 after battling mantle cell lymphoma. He was 73 years old.
A native of Newark, Calabria was a lifelong educator, serving as a teacher, guidance counselor, guidance director, assistant principal and principal over the course of his career. The districts he served in a professional capacity include Sparta, Montville and Fort Lee.
The Parsippany-Troy Hills board issued the following statement upon his death. “The Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education has lost a great friend and leader. We are deeply saddened to say that the longest serving member of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education, Dr. Frank A. Calabria, passed away on Monday. Dr. Calabria was a Board of Education Member from 1973 through 2015. During that time he served on numerous committees and served as the Board President for 11 years. Dr. Calabria was a man of such grace, commitment, diligence, and insights it was an honor to call him our colleague and our friend.
“During his tenure he mentored numerous board members about leadership, service to our community, and making a difference in the lives of our students. Dr. Calabria had the wisdom to embrace the changing world of education. He valued public education and dedicated his time on the board to ensuring the students of Parsippany-Troy Hills received the best education possible. His actions were always guided by our mission statement, …“to provide effective instruction in all program areas, to develop the learning potential of all students in the district, to build skills for a lifetime of learning…” Dr. Calabria lived by example he was good, kind, and gracious…our community has lost a dear friend and a significant leader in education.”
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Angela; his two brothers, Sam and Dom; his four children, Maria Manley and her husband Mike, Joanne Barkauskas and her husband Rich, Suzanne Petersen and her husband Jim, and David Calabria and his wife Kendra; and his 15 grandchildren.
The funeral was held on Sat. Feb. 7. Donations can be made to the Dr. Frank A. Calabria Scholarship Fund in the school district. Checks should be made payable to the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education, and mailed to the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education, c/o Joni Benos, 292 Parsippany Road, Parsippany, N.J. 07054.