Montville 'Treasure' Ralph Avallone an Active Volunteer

Ralph Avallone, a 39-year resident of , has seen Montville change in many ways, but, in his opinion, the people who live there and their passion for the community have mostly remained the same.

Avallone, 87, has had the opportunity to meet many Montville residents as he has become an active volunteer in many local organizations over the past several years. He volunteers his time cooking for the Knights of Columbus twice a month, he attends all Republican Club meetings, often providing refreshments, and is a former trustee of the board. He also reads during church services on a weekly basis.

Over the past several years, Avallone has also taken his volunteerism and generosity overseas. After visiting a poverty-stricken village in the Dominican Republic, Avallone was inspired.

"I saw the poverty there and when I came home, I put an ad in the church bulletin," he said.

Avallone said he was able to collect 2,500 lbs. of donated clothing and food, as well as 200 tubes of toothpaste and a toothbrush for each child in a small class there.

Avallone's commitment to helping others has not gone unnoticed. He was honored with a Silver Service Award from St. Pius Church in 1999 and in 2008, he and his wife, Maida, were honored as Morris County Living Treasures.

But while Montville has become so much more than a town where his home is located to Avallone, he said he was not thrilled about the township when he first moved in in the 1970s.

"I came here, but I wasn't enthusiastic about it," he said.

Ralph and Maida Avallone were married in August of 1948. They purchased their first home outside of Montville in 1950, but decided to move after two 30-story buildings were constructed right on the end of their property. Avallone was working for the U.S. Postal Service, which he retired from after 44 years in 1992, at the time and a colleague had told him about Montville Township.

He became interested in the property he still owns today in the Lake Valhalla community. At the time, the asking price for the home, which was situated on a 4.5-acre lot, was $125,000. Avallone said he put in an offer for $85,000 on the home and the buyer went for it. Now, the Avallone's own most of the property surrounding their home and even built their son a home on an adjoining parcel.

The look of Montville has somewhat changed since then, Avallone said. There was, at one point, a few more farms than currently exist today. But Avallone feels his neighbors continue to be warm and welcoming as they were when he moved to town.

"I have a philosophy that if you treat people nice, there's no way they can't respond," he said.

Let Patch save you time. Get local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone each day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast, sign-up here.