Nat Giancola, a dedicated presence in the Totowa schools and in Little Falls politics - and on playing fields throughout North Jersey - died Saturday. He was 80.

The cause apparently was a heart attack, his family said.

Mr. Giancola, who lived his entire life on the same block in Little Falls, retired in 1990 after 37 years with the Totowa school district, the last 13 as superintendent. But he hardly slowed down.

He became involved in Democratic politics in his hometown, running unsuccessfully for the Little Falls Township Committee in 1993 and 1994 and rising to party leader. And he kept up his sideline of officiating high school and youth sports, mostly football. Last fall, he suffered a fractured wrist when two players collided with him during a high school game.

"It was something he enjoyed doing; he liked being around the kids," Jean Giancola said of her husband's more than 30 years as a referee.

"For a guy that age to get out there on the field and move the way he did, even with a cast on his wrist, was phenomenal," said Ed Perretti of Paterson, who often officiated with Mr. Giancola.

The officiating skills Mr. Giancola displayed on athletic fields were honed as a teacher, principal and superintendent. Anthony Sgobba, a partner in Sgobba's Monument Works in Paterson, was a student at Memorial School, one of two in the Totowa district, when Mr. Giancola was superintendent.

"When you heard Nat Giancola coming down the hallway, you straightened up and made sure you were in class," Sgobba said.

"He kept students in line, yet there were many times he gave certain students a break when he felt it was necessary."

As a school board member in the mid-'80s, Sgobba saw the superintendent from a different vantage point. He credited Mr. Giancola with establishing the district's new computer lab, updating curricula and keeping the budget in check.

Totowa's current superintendent, Vincent Varcadipane, never worked with Mr. Giancola. But like Sgobba, he first knew Mr. Giancola as an authority figure: Mr. Giancola was Memorial School's crew-cut-wearing principal while Varcadipane attended kindergarten through eighth grade.

"My most vivid memory of him was during fire drills," Varcadipane said. "He'd walk around and make sure no one was talking, and pull you out of line if you were.

"He was a disciplinarian. A lot of us were respectful of authority back then; it's a different world out there now."

Mr. Giancola was honored in 2004 for his financial support of Totowa's Dwight D. Eisenhower Library. At the time of his death, he was a trustee of Passaic County Community College.

In addition to his wife of 57 years, he is survived by two daughters, Natalie McKenna of Montville and Laurie Martell of Caldwell, and eight grandchildren. Another daughter, Valerie DeRitis, died in October.

Visiting is today, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m., at Bizub-Parker Funeral Home, Little Falls. The funeral Mass will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Holy Angels R.C. Church, Little Falls. Interment will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Totowa.