On the morning of Friday, Sept. 19, a familiar face was missing among the regulars dining at Ponzio’s.
For years, Cherry Hill Councilman N. John Amato was seated at the diner’s counter most mornings. He would frequently invite residents, friends and people he met around the South Jersey community to join him.
Now, mornings of Ponzio’s will miss Amato’s charisma, compassion and laughter.
Amato died on the night of Sept. 18 after a battle with cancer at the age of 82. He is survived by his daughters Rosemary and Irena and grandchildren Michael and Francesca.
Former Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Bass Levin served alongside Amato from 1988 through 2002 and was his close friend for many years. She said Amato always welcomed people to sit and chat with him at Ponzio’s no matter if they were a good friend or someone he had just met.
“He would tell people, ‘You can always see me at my seat at the counter at Ponzio’s,’” Bass Levin said. “That was his special office.”
Assemblyman Louis Greenwald said Amato befriended his father, Floyd, after his mother, former Cherry Hill Mayor Maria Barnaby Greenwald, died in a car accident in 1995.
“John brought people in,” Greenwald said. “He had a sense of people who needed friendship.”
While many knew him as Cherry Hill’s long-time councilman, younger Cherry Hill residents recognized him as Santa Claus, a role he enjoyed playing for many years. Bass Levin recalled having breakfast with Amato one morning when a father and his two daughters approached them. However, they weren’t there to meet Amato, the councilman.
“Just in back of (the father) were two adorable little girls,” Bass Levin said. “He whispers to me, ‘They met him at a church when he was Santa Claus.’ So they sat down with John and he talked to these two little girls.”
Amato played Santa Claus at the Cherry Hill Mall and a variety of holiday events. He never kept a dime he was paid for the role, instead donating it charity.
Amato’s caring nature stood out to many of his colleagues on council. He is the longest-serving councilman ever in Cherry Hill, having first been elected in 1983. For 31 years, he trained dozens of newly elected officials on how government worked and how to best represent Cherry Hill’s residents.
“Having him while I was on council, he was someone I could always turn to,” said New Jersey Assemblywoman Pam Lampitt, who served on Cherry Hill Council from 2003 to 2005. “He understood the inner workings of Cherry Hill like no one else.”
“He was a mentor to me,” Bass Levin said. “He showed me the ropes. He could tell a story and make his point and always did it with kindness.”
Mayor Chuck Cahn echoed Lampitt when he recalled running for mayor in 2011.
“I got to know John very well when we ran for office together three years ago, and he quickly took me under his wing and shared his tremendous depth of knowledge about Cherry Hill and local government,” Cahn said in a statement.
Council president Dave Fleisher served with Amato since he first joined council in 1997. He said Amato’s personality was a perfect fit for Cherry Hill’s diverse population.
“He thrived being with and serving others,” Fleisher said. “He had a personality that transcended neighborhoods or any stereotypes.”
Fleisher said Amato never put himself before others or the town he served. This was evident in 2002, when Amato stepped down as council president.
“In 2002, he stepped aside and supported me to be council president and the late Joyce Walker as council vice president, because he said he was thinking about the future,” Fleisher said. “This really speaks to who John was.”
“It was always about ‘’I will make my decision based on what’s the best for the people of Cherry Hill,’” Bass Levin said. “That’s why he was on council, to do what is best for the people of Cherry Hill.”
Amato’s compassion for others extended outside of his role with the township. He was a member of the Sons of Italy and served on the board of the Camden County Vocational Schools and the YALE School for children with special needs. He was also involved at Queen of Heaven Roman Catholic Church as a Eucharistic minister and lector.
For many of those who served with Amato, they knew him not just as a colleague, but also as a friend.
“John was more than a colleague, he was family,” Fleisher said. “He always put people first.”
“He always had a smile on his face and a kind word for everyone,” Bass Levin said. “He could cheer you up just by sitting down and talking to you. He always saw the good in people, always wanted to make new friends.”
Amato’s name will live on forever at town hall. To celebrate his 80th birthday in 2012, the township named the council chambers after him. Even on that night, Amato still put his constituents ahead of himself.
“You’re here for the people of Cherry Hill,” Amato said during the ceremony in August of 2012.
Bass Levin made a stop at Ponzio’s on the morning of Sept. 19 to sit in Amato’s seat. She said the impressions he left on people, whether as a councilman, friend or Santa, will never be forgotten.
“Every time I see a man with a white beard and a red suit I will think about John,” Bass Levin said.
A viewing for Amato is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 22 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Tuesday, Sept. 23 from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at Queen of Heaven Roman Catholic Church in Cherry Hill. A funeral mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday, following by burial at Calvary Cemetery.
