Manta Musat 96, of Haddonfield, NJ, passed away peacefully at his home on March 9, 2026.
He was a beloved father, grandfather, and friend, and his presence will be dearly missed.
Manta began his life journey in a village in Buzau, Romania on July 13, 1929, the son of Gheorghe and Maria Musat.
He dedicated his life to helping and nurturing his family.
He studied at the Military Academy in Bucharest and graduaded in 1960 as an officer. He worked in the Romanian military, being part of the Romanian Ministry of National Defense. He retired with the rank of colonel in 1984. His duties included auditing military discipline conformance, as well as performing special investigations throughout military units in Romania.
His passion was home improvement projects, building and creating. He was a great fan of soccer, and loved playing chess and solving crossword puzzles. He was a man of great kindness who always liked to learn new things.
Manta visited the USA for the first time in 1996. It was during this visit that he toured the White House with his daughter, one of the highlights of his life.
His greatest joy was spending time with his grandsons; playing in the backyard, making snowmen, picking them up from school and making mac and cheese. Besides the time spent in Haddonfield, they visited the Berlin wall, and the Alsace region of France together as a family.
Manta is survived by his daughter, Rodica Musat and her sons, Christopher and Daniel Dinu of Haddonfield.
A public funeral service will be held at 10:00 am on Monday March 16, at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church, 615 Mercer Street, Cherry Hill. The burial will be at Haddonfield Baptist Cemetery.