After 52 Years, Ocean City's Frank the Plumber Ready for Retirement

Ocean City residents know him as Frank The Plumber.

They know his dedication and commitment. They all know Frank is dependable and does everything with a smile on his face.

And when he was ready to move on, they were all there to show him their appreciation.

“I got a lot of really nice letters and cards,” said Frank Mazzitelli, a plumber in Ocean City for 52 years and a lifelong resident of the island. “It really got to me.”

Mazzitelli always knew his customers were his friends, but the strong response from the community when he retired took him by surprise.

“I wasn’t even thinking about it,” Mazzitelli said in reference to his last job on Wednesday, May 20. “I just went in and started working.”

The job was at Cheryl Caliri’s house, and she was elated when she learned Mazzitelli’s final job would be at her house.

“You could always count on Frank,” Caliri said. “He swiftly returned his calls and forever had a smile when we would see him around town and out to lunch at Uncle Bill’s. He was a real class act.”

“You were always there when we needed you,” resident Dawn Brasslett told Mazzitelli on his final day. “And it was always with a smile on your face.”

Mazzitelli was always smiling because he loved his job and he loved his customers. He said there wasn’t one day that went by in which he thought about leaving the business.

There were plenty of days in a career that began at an early age.

“My father was a plumber. One day when I was 16, he told me I was going to work this weekend,” Mazzitelli said. “Luckily, I liked it.”

He worked with his father, Frank Mazzitelli Sr., for about five years before he started his own business, Frank’s Plumbing and Heating, on Asbury Avenue.

When he opened up shop, plumbers had to be more versatile than they are today, Mazzitelli said.

“In the beginning, I did drain cleaning, sprinklers, plumbing, and heating,” among other things, Mazzitelli said. “Then things became more specialized. There were specific businesses for drain cleaning and sprinklers and everything else.”

Eventually, Mazzitelli had to cut some of his services, and reduce his staff. In the end, it was just Mazzitelli and Glenn Everson, who was by Mazzitelli’s side for 38 years. Everson, an Ocean City resident, also retired with Mazzitelli.

Mazzitelli said he was very lucky to have Everson by his side, and that their specialties complemented each other well.

Mazzitelli’s dedication to his job and his working partner illustrate perfectly a life, and family tradition, of loyalty and dedication.

The man who spent his whole life in Ocean City married his high school sweetheart, Carol. They have been married for 50 years.

His son, 46-year-old Chris Mazzitelli, has worked at Manco and Manco Pizza for 30 years.

His father was a plumber for 60 years.

As Mazzitelli approaches 70 years old, his body is telling him his plumbing days are behind him, but he has a plan for his retirement years.

“Some guys have a project list. I have a project book,” Mazzitelli said.

His book includes working around the house and helping his wife and daughter. His daughter, 50-year-old Lynne Clooney, lives in Egg Harbor Township with her husband and two children.

He will now treasure his family and the friendships he’s built while living in Ocean City and becoming a household name.

And although his working years are over, he has plenty of friends who will always know him as Frank the Plumber.

The attached images of Frank Mazzitelli were provided.