Joseph Vincent DeMattio

Beloved Westport local and Staples High School football star, Joseph Vincent DeMattio, passed away on November 24th after a courageous battle with a long term illness. Born on March 19th, 1958 Joseph is survived by a large extended family and hundreds of friends.

“Joey” was an extraordinary athlete. He played defense for the University of Maryland Terrapins and was also a star player for Sonny’s Softball team.

There was never a dull moment in the life of Joey. From running with the bulls in Pamplona to fighting pirates in the Bahamas he was no stranger to adventure or travel.

Although Joey held several positions in his career his favorite was working for the Keith Richard’s Family (of Rolling Stones fame). He often reminisced how down to earth and kind the entire family was to him.

Joseph was an exceptionally handsome guy with a huge beautiful smile and an even larger heart. He loved so many people but had a soft spot for children and the elderly. At any given gathering, he would often be found throwing the ball with the kids or recounting stories from “back in the day” with the old folks.

Joseph was an accomplished inventor and holds 2 provisional patents.

“Joey D” loved Saugatuck, Junior’s Hot Dog Stand, Compo Beach, Aunt Jean’s Eggplant Parm, Walter K,

Maryland Terrapins - go #75, Ledo’s Pizza, Inventing things, his little dog Tony, his beautiful home, $65 (rooned), eating pounds of food - especially Italian, his Saugatuck Saints jacket, KP, The Mangler, Calvin the monkey, yelling at umpires, playing football, traveling, The Three Stooges, The Rolling Stones, Pistachio ice cream and especially his puppies, Shoo Shoo, Tippy, Dasha and Tony Soprano. When the night has come And the land is dark And the moon is the only light we’ll see

No, I won’t be afraid Oh, I won’t be afraid Just as long as you stand, stand by me

Love you so much Joey……. Harding Funeral Home Wednesday, December 1st 4:00 p.m. Assumption Church Thursday, December 2nd 10:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to https://saferefugeofcentraltexas.weebly.com/ where two of Joey’s beloved puppies came from!