Obituary of George DeMattia

George R. DeMattia, former Vice President of the Fresh Spot and Manager at the Hilltop Steakhouse in Saugus, passed away after at his home on Monday morning, January 16, 2012. He was 56 years old. George was born in Medford. His family moved to Burlington in 1962. George was a 1973 graduate of Austin Prep in Reading. While attending Austin Prep he was Captain of the Football Team which, at the time, had their first undefeated season. George grew up in a family that strongly believed in giving of oneself to others and the community they lived in. He was President of Burlington Babe Ruth as well as a Baseball Manager for Babe Ruth Baseball for 6 years. During his term as President George raised the funds to purchase the first batting cages for Simond’s Park. He was also Burlington High School Junior Varsity Baseball Coach for 2 years. George sponsored the Northeast Summer Baseball League for 8 years. George was very involved in Burlington Pop Warner Football serving as its President for 2 years and on the Board of Directors for 5 years. During this time he was also a Coach for six years. For many years George raised money for the Warren Burr Scholarship Fund and a cause that was very dear to his family the Kidney Foundation. George continued his love of being involved in the community when his children were young in Billerica. He became active in the Baseball Association and was an Assistant Baseball Coach for the Billerica Little League. George loved spending time at the beach with his family and they spent many vacations together in Ogunquit, Maine. He treasured his role as a Father and never missed one of his children’s events. George was the beloved father of Jason, Kimberly, Kaitlyn & Joseph of Billerica. Loving husband of 20 years of Sharon (Willis) DeMattia. Devoted son of Joan (Franceschi) of Burlington and the late George. Brother of Thomas of Lowell and the late Nancy Bromander. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., BURLINGTON at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited. Visiting hours Wednesday 4-8 p.m. Interment will be . private. Memorials in George’s name may be made to Merrimack Valley Hospice, 360 Merrimack St., Unit 9, Lawrence, MA 01843. Family Remembrance from George's Children “life is not supposed to be easy. It is supposed to be hard and full of obstacles, some easy some hard ,and some a lot harder than the rest. These obstacles are there so that one day u can overcome all of them, and become a much stronger person. We may not always like the outcome but we must accept it and move on as best as we possibly can.” – Jason It is with an extremely heavy heart, but a peaceful mind that the four of us stand before you all. For those of you who knew our Father he was an incredible man. In his lifetime he mastered the art of being Perfectly Imperfect. He wasn’t perfect, but he never pretended to be. It was his imperfections that made him the best father; for it was those mistakes that he made sure we’d learn from. He was the most patient man, he knew how to keep his composure and calm any situation that the four of us could brew up, and as you all know those situations are never short or quiet. He taught us what it was like to love with everything you have. My Father loved like no other man, love was his greatest offering and it was with love that he most spoiled us. My Dad battled more adversity in his lifetime than most ever will. However, despite the constant not so good news, he would always tell us to remain “happy, optimistic, and positive” it was that positive attitude that taught us what courage was. When our Father heard the news his cancer was back, deep down we all knew that the end was closer than we wanted. However, he never shuttered from his outlook that he always believed: “yesterdays history today’s a mystery.” There are no words that we can use for our father other than Proud. We are so proud of the man he was, he never quit even in his last few moments he battled with dignity. Our father was our best friend, we told him more than most daughters ever would. I vividly remember my Freshman year of college him driving us home, and Kait and I were in one of our nonstop vent sessions. With the conversation having no limits we noticed the window kept getting lower, when we asked him what his issue was. He replied “you know I am your father right, something’s I shouldn’t hear”. It was in this moment that we died laughing because for 18 years he had heard it all. Just because the stories got a little more intense didn’t mean he wasn’t going to hear them, he realized then that he made his bed long ago and was now going to have to lie in it. We had no secrets, we are daddy’s little girls. In our Father’s final days he was himself. He was funny and happy. He divulged all childhood secrets which I am sure he is wishing now he didn’t let the morphine talk so much. For our entire life our father’s favorite spot has been the beach and we went on many family vacations there. During one of our talks this weekend my Father told us we could always meet him at the beach,I asked him to let us know when he got to heaven and he promised he would. When we were exiting the funeral home on Monday afternoon there was a beach ball in the middle of Winn Street. In that moment we knew that he made it to heaven okay and he is already at the beach. That beach ball was our fathers way of letting us know, that he was happy , so we should be too. We would like to take this moment to thank all the doctors and nurses who worked with our father. You have all collectively saved his life for as long as you could and we are forever indebted to you for the time you gave us. You guys were not only his doctors but his friends and he loved you. I think doctor Kerouz said it best “ A man is not measured by what he has, but by how much he is loved”. Remembering George DeMattia For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Robert Kirchner and I am a lieutenant with the Burlington Police Department. I was able to achieve this prestigious position through hard work, loyalty, and dedication. This badge I am holding up is a symbol of who I am and what I have achieved. Early on in my career I was fortunate enough to understand that the key to my success was to learn from the officers who came before me. Their training and experience would be beneficial to me going forward By know I bet most of you are wondering why I am up here talking about myself. Well, I will tell you why. As children growing up most of us are sculpted and molded by our parents. Many of our actions, habits, and beliefs are based on the actions, habits, and beliefs of our parents. As we approach our teen years we are often influenced by people outside the family. It may be a friend, a teacher, a coach, or a boss you had at one of your jobs. That being said I would like to tell you about who I was before becoming a police officer. As a 15 year old kid I was fortunate enough to have joined the Fresh Spot family. I call it a family because that is what the Fresh Spot was, a family. Little did I realize the impact my nine years of employment there would have on the development of who I am today. There are two mentors I need to recognize today. The first being George’s father, Mr. George C. DeMattia. As many of you know, Mr. DeMattia was laid to rest on December 5th. If you read his obituary you would know that Mr. DeMattia was a giving man. He volunteered his time, his money, and his product to many non-profit organizations and youth sports. He also provided employment opportunities to hundreds of kids within the community. What I learned from Mr. DeMattia you will not find in his obituary. His organizational skills, his attention to detail, and his work ethic were tools I knew I needed to be successful. He always said you could achieve anything if you were willing to put in the effort. It didn’t always come out of his mouth that way, but he was always looking out for your best interest. His tough love approach was very intimidating and frustrating at times, but you never questioned the motive behind it. Today I stand before George R. DeMattia, the other mentor I want to talk about. I first met Demo as he was known to many of us, thirty three years ago. At first it was a working relationship but quickly turned into a great friendship. How could it not, Demo not only had many of his father’s traits but was an easy going guy who was easily approachable. Plus whenever you saw George he always had that great big smile on his face. And let me tell you, that smile was genuine. In fact I bet if you asked anyone who interacted with George at the Fresh Spot they would say yes I do remember him smiling all the time. That smile was George’s way of saying he was happy to see you and that he cared about you. George always knew a little bit about everyone and it was his way of showing that he was truly interested in what was going on in everyone’s lives. Like his father Demo was a giving person. George volunteered his time to coaching both football and baseball. I will always cherish the time the two of us coached the Northeast Baseball Team. We had a great run, making the playoffs every year and winning back to back championships in the mid 80’s. Although winning was satisfying, the greatest satisfaction came from our ability to get the kids to work together and give their best effort every night. He was so proud that we were able to accomplish that. But Demo’s best quality was his loyalty. Without a doubt, loyalty was the greatest gift George could give you. No one knew that more than his father. As a teenager and as a young adult George sacrificed his time for his father and the store. George did not go out with his friends, he did not date a lot, but he also did not complain. Instead he worked anywhere from sixty to eighty hours a week because he was committed to his father and the goals his father was trying to accomplish. George was also loyal to his friends. If you were a friend of George’s, you were a friend for life. Whether it was his time, his money, or just an ear to listen he was always there. He was always at the front of the line for anyone who needed a helping hand. George was loyal to his family. He was loyal to his father and mother, his brother Tommy, and his sister Nancy. George was loyal to Sharon and the four kids, Jason and Joseph, Kim and Kaitlyn. If you had the chance to see all those pictures at the funeral home you would have known that those pictures said it all. I can tell the four of you that every time he talked to me about you guys he was smiling with pride. His love for all of you spilled out with each and every word. He reiterated how proud he was of you guys on Saturday. This is just a highlight of who George DeMattia was. I could stand up here and tell you stories of our time at the Fresh Spot together or the stories that happened outside the store. I can guarantee that there would not be a dry eye here in the church, but they would be tears of joy celebrating Georgie’s life. When I look back I can not believe what a lucky man I was. As a 15 year old kid both George and his father thought enough of me to teach me the things I needed to be successful in life. But our friendship was the bonus. That friendship made learning easy. Last Saturday I had a chance to visit with my friend. As always, I walked through the door and the first thing I saw was that big smile that I first witnessed thirty three years ago. That smile always broke the ice no matter what the circumstances were. After the initial hellos and how you are doings the conversation flowed as if we never missed a beat. That was the great thing about our friendship. It did not matter how much time had passed, we always had that bond where we could pick up right where we left off. Throughout the night we laughed as we talked about the old times. We laughed just as hard Saturday than when we did the first time we enjoyed our experiences. I promised the girls that I would tell at least one story during the eulogy. So girls if you don’t mind I will tell the bees nest story that I told you guys Saturday night. Back in the 80’s Georges’s parents were in Florida on vacation. Well George comes to work and he tells me and my friend Dan Lowney about a bees nest that is hanging from the gutter at his parents’ house. He starts telling us that he needs to get rid of it. So Dan and I tell George that we will go by the house after work and take care of it for him. That afternoon we went by the house and much to our surprise we saw a bees nest that had to be two feet long by one foot wide hanging off the gutter. Well I should have known better. George was always famous for playing down things so it wouldn’t be a big deal. We decided to go in the house and have a few beers and figure out a plan. Plus we always thought that a few beers would open up the imagination to some great ideas. After quite a few beers we went out to the garage to get a pipe that we use to use for fireworks on the fourth of July. We tied a bunch of old rags around the 8 foot pipe and then we doused it with gasoline. We then lit the rags on fire and Danny and I set out to get rid of the bees nest. After jamming our torch into the bees nest the nest fell into the bushes. It was at this time that Dan and I realized that we did not have a plan for when we knocked the bees nest down. The bees were flying every where and Dan and I took off running. We jumped in the Fresh Spot van that was parked out in front of the house on the street. As we looked back towards the house we now had another problem, the bush was on fire and it was smoking pretty good. As Dan and I sat in the van we could see George and Tommy standing in the picture window watching. No one appeared to be in a hurry to take care of the new problem. Eventually we were able to put the fire out but not without leaving our mark on Mr. D’s gutter. Now I need to get serious for a few more minutes. Near the end of my visit Saturday I thought to myself, I can’t believe my friend is about to embark on a new journey. Before I left, George’s family left the room so I could say goodbye. Our conversation turned serious and I listened intently. All though he was moving on at such a young age he was happy with the life he had lived. He said to me, “Moose I have lived a pretty good life and I have been blessed with four wonderful kids. I may not have had a lot of friends but the friend I had were true friends.” He talked about all the good times we had over the years and how much we laughed. He also made some other comments that made me realize he was at peace with what was forthcoming. It was at this time I realized I was not going to say goodbye to my friend. He was not leaving me, he was not leaving his family, and he was not leaving anyone else whose heart he touche d at one time or another. George will always live with in our hearts and in our heads. I left George’s house telling him I would be back Monday afternoon. Monday afternoon never came for George but it did for me. On Monday afternoon I looked back at our past. I laughed a little and I cried a little and then I realized that George and I were together on that afternoon. In closing I want to talk about this badge again. At the beginning of this eulogy I told you this badge was a symbol of who I am and what I have achieved. My friend Demo played a vital role in my achievements. But today this badge is the symbol of something special. Whether it is next week, next month, or next year someone in this church will say, “Remember that cop waving that badge at George Demattia’s funeral?” And then that person will realize that badge was what reminded them of the day we celebrated the life of George Demattia.