31-year civil servant laid to rest in Hubbard

DeMatteo will be remembered as a good public servant and nice man.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HUBBARD -- Local residents will say goodbye today to longtime resident and civil servant Ernest S. DeMatteo, but some will remember Ernest S. for more than his service to the community.
DeMatteo, 79, died Wednesday. Funeral services were to be at 8 a.m. today at Kelley-Robb Funeral Home and at 8:30 a.m. at St. Patrick Church in Hubbard.
DeMatteo worked for the city of Hubbard for 31 years, retiring in 1982, after serving as the city's police chief for 16 years.
DeMatteo was a member of the F.O.P. of Ohio and the Police and Fire Retirees of Ohio. His police training included the Police Management School, Peace Officers School, Law Enforcement Training School, Liquor Control School and Ohio Highway Patrol School Training.
DeMatteo served on the Hubbard Civil Service Board and founded the Hubbard Auxiliary Police. He also served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Public servant, good cook
Mayor Art Magee worked with DeMatteo when DeMatteo served as police chief. He said the former chief served the community well.
"He was very community-minded and a good policeman, a good public servant" he said.
Public service, however, is not the only thing Magee remembers about DeMatteo. He said DeMatteo knew his way around the kitchen and could cook to satisfy even the most picky eaters. He also said the former chief knew how to make those around him smile.
"He loved to tell jokes, and Ernie could tell jokes for hours on end," he said. "He was a pleasure to work with, he really was."
Magee said DeMatteo also enjoyed camping and was an avid fisherman and hunter. He recalls a hunting trip where DeMatteo shot a bear.
"He was so proud of it," he said.
Hubbard police Sgt. Lou Carsone said he will remember DeMatteo as his mentor. It was DeMatteo, Carsone said, who in the early 1970s first told him he had been hired and would be starting his career as a police officer.
Carsone said DeMatteo had a way with people and was familiar with everyone in the community. DeMatteo, he said, kept to an older way of doing police work.
"Ernie was from what I guess you would call the old school," he said. "He could be gruff, but then turn around and give you exactly what it was you needed. He could be tough, but still be a friend."
jgoodwin@vindy.com