OAKLAND, NJ – Postal officials are announcing the general public is invited to the special ceremony at the Post Office on Thursday, April 25 at 11 a.m. to honor an Oakland NJ favorite son. The highlight of the ceremony will be an unveiling of the plaque to fulfill Public Law 115-374 dedicating the Oakland NJ Post Office, 332 Ramapo Valley Road, to former Postmaster Frank Leone. 

In addition to the Leone family members, expected ceremony participants include: Congressman Josh Gottheimer, Oakland Mayor Linda H. Schwager, USPS Northern NJ District Manager Michael Deignan, and Oakland NJ Postmaster Stacy Valerius.

Leone moved to Oakland with his wife Ellen in 1954 after serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kearsarge—a ship Frank’s father helped build.  He was Acting Postmaster for nearly two years prior to being formally appointed as the Postmaster of Oakland by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967. He was the last presidentially appointed Postmaster in New Jersey when he retired in 2012. He passed away in 2014 at age 87.

Frank served as Postmaster for 48 years, during which time he also served as the President of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, an active member of the American Legion Post 369 and the Franklin Lakes VFW, Oakland's Fire Chief, Director of Emergency Management, and Civil Defense Defender, a Deacon at the Ramapo Valley Baptist Church, and the National Vice President of the National Association of Postmasters.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer introduced H.R. 6428 in the U.S. House of Representatives: “To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 332 Ramapo Valley Road in Oakland, New Jersey, as the “Frank Leone Post Office.” Following passage by the House and Senate, the bill was signed into law on December 21, 2018 by the President.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund operations.

###