At the time of Frederick's birth in 1909 the family was living in the Bronx, NY. His mother was Pasqualina Moscatiello and his father was Vincenzo Massa. Frederick had a brother Carl and a sister, Caroline. The family moved to Englewood, NJ where his father was a barber. When their parents died suddenly of pneumonia on the same day in 1923 he went to live with his Uncle Louis and Aunt Angelina Moscatiello. They became his guardians.

When Fred was 16 he started Yale University as an Art Major. He attended from 1925-1929, but didn't graduate.

Fred married Madeline Berardo in 1934 and went to work for the WPA painting murals at Brooklyn Public Library and The Fort Ticonderoga Post Office. He then became a design engineer. Fred died on January 29, 1969 of heart failure at age 59 in East Orange New Jersey where he and his family were living at the time. He was married to Madeline for 35 years. His three children were Vincent Noel, Carol C. McCormack, and Roberta Naden.

Biographical information written by Frederick Massa's daughter, Carol McCormack. Photographs contributed by Ms. McCormack.

Frederick Massa did two New Deal murals. One was "Exhortation of Ethan Allen" at New York's Ticonderoga Post Office in 1940 (oil on canvas). The other was a mural in the Brooklyn Library, which has since been destroyed.

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