Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • September 28, 2011 (continued from page 3) time Martel devoted to the township and he said Martel did an amazing job as mayor. “I want to thank you for sharing Dick with us and I want to thank Dick for everything he has done for us,” DaPuzzo told Martel’s family. “The least we can do is to honor him by naming the township’s municipal building after him where it will stand for a very long time and hopefully forever.” Hermansen said he met Martel in 1992 when he was the cook at a New York Giants game tailgate party and did not know he was the township’s mayor until he moved into town in 2001. “I can think of nothing better than to name this building after him,” Hermansen said. “Mahwah meant everything to him and he meant everything to Mahwah.” Councilwoman Lisa DiGiulio described Martel as a friend and said he spent three quarters of his life serving Mahwah. “I was very lucky to have him as my friend,” DiGiulio said, adding that she would describe Martel in two words, “He cared.” Senator Cardinale and the other former presidents of the township council, John Kelly, Eileen Richter, John Spiech, and Louis Rizzo, all recounted their memories of Martel and added their words of praise for the former mayor. After the new sign was unveiled, Martel’s eldest son Daniel thanked the council on behalf of his family. Addressing the crowd, he said, “There are no words to express his influence in our lives and it is through his example that we have learned to be the husband, the father, and the men we are today.” Daniel Martel praised his father, saying that during his lifetime he “made few waves, but created an enormous wake.” He concluded by saying, “Dad, you have made your family proud and now it is our turn to say, ‘Thank you very much.’” A reception followed in the municipal building’s senior center. Martel died on March 7 after a brief illness. He was 72. He was remembered at a special meeting of the Mahwah Township Council two days later as a shy, gentle man who listened to people, had a heart that was big enough to encompass the whole town, never got angry, and cared very much about the township and each and every township employee. It was at that meeting that the council set (continued on page 14) Martel honored ������������������������������ ������������������������������� ���������������������������� �������������������������� ������������������������������ 35 ������������������������������� �������������������������� � ����������������� ������������������ ��������� ������ �� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �� � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � � �� � � � � � � � � � � � � ������������� � �������������������������� � ���������� �� 3-16-11 pat/janine