Residents in Stoughton are grieving the death of David “Spanky” Sousa, a former selectman and longtime supporter of the town’s Portuguese community who often portrayed Santa Claus at local events.
“He was like a son to me,” said Robert Cohn, 80, who served with Sousa on the board between 2014 and 2017. “My sons live in Tampa and Chicago. Spanky was my son here.”
A maintenance supervisor for the state transportation department, Sousa was on a highway crew picking up debris along Route 24 in West Bridgewater Saturday when he was hit by a vehicle and fatally injured. Sousa, 57, had worked for the transporation department since 2010.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz’s office and the State Police crash investigation team, officials said. The driver remained at the scene, officials said.
Sousa, who worked for the Massachusetts Turnpike before shifting to the transportation department, was a “safety-minded person,” Cohn said.
“Spanky played by the rules at everything,” Cohn said. “That’s one thing he did, he made sure his men, whatever they did, were doing it safe. He was a working foreman. He’d go out, pick up the rubbish, and he expected the men to do the same thing.”
Sousa, Cohn, and a third member of the board were recalled by voters in 2017 after they refused to extend the town manager’s contract. Before the election, Sousa was interviewed by the Stoughton cable access channel.
“I love this town,” he said. “Win or lose, they are not going to take Stoughton out of me. This is home.”
Cohn and Sousa were so close that Sousa called his friend “Dad.” Sousa was the son of Portuguese immigrants who volunteered for Portuguese clubs when they were hosting festivals in town, a key social event for the community, Cohn said.
Sousa also volunteered at Cohn’s temple, the Ahavath Torah Congregation, when it provided holiday gifts to needy children through the local schools.
“Spanky was very, very friendly with the Jewish population in Stoughton,” Cohn said. “Did a lot of good things for us.”
For many years, Sousa and his wife, Maria, dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Claus for holiday events in town and for the Boston Red Sox, Cohn said. While many who portray Santa Claus need a pillow or two to fill out the costume, Sousa needed no extra padding.
“Spanky was built to be Santa Claus,” Cohn said. But this past year, he shed more than 120 pounds through diet and exercise, Cohn said.
Mark Snyder, the administrator of a Stoughton-focused Facebook site, wrote that he was “devastated” to learn of Sousa’s death.
“Spanky was a great guy who loved our town and our people. Prayers for Maria and his family. He will be greatly missed by all of us who called him friend,” he wrote. “I will miss seeing him playing Santa at the Christmas Parade of Lights I host each year. The Spirit of Christmas lived within him. The kids were always so happy to see him!”
Sousa and his wife had two adult children. He is also survived by his father and two brothers, Cohn said.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete Monday.
“It will be a huge funeral, huge,” Cohn said.
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him @JREbosglobe.