A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, July 10, at 10 a.m. in St. Mary Church in Dover, N.J., for Father John A. DeMattia, who died on July 7 at St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville, N.J. He was 83.
Father DeMattia was born in Clifton to the late John and Margaret DeMattia. He graduated from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., and from Immaculate Conception Seminary, when it was located in Darlington, N.J.
After his studies, on May 25, 1968, Bishop Lawrence B. Casey ordained Father DeMattia a priest of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, N.J.
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Father DeMattia served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in the Whippany neighborhood of Hanover Township, N.J., until 1975, when he was assigned to St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne, N.J.
In 1978, Father DeMattia was assigned to St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Parsippany, N.J., and in 1979 to St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln Park, N.J.
In 1980, Father DeMattia was assigned as pastor of Our Lady of Mercy in Whippany. Then, in 2006, Bishop Emeritus Arthur J. Serratelli named him pastor of St. Mary Parish in Dover, where he remained until retiring in 2014.
He also served the diocese as a chaplain for the Girl Scouts and as a dean.
Father DeMattia is survived by Eileen Tuohey, Meagan Henneghan and her husband Mark, and Grace and Liam Tuohey-Kay.
Visitation for Father DeMattia will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, at St. Mary Church in Dover. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 10, at St. Mary’s. Priests are invited to concelebrate the Mass. Please bring diocesan vestments.
Send condolences to the attention of the Clergy Personnel Office c/o St. Paul Inside the Walls, 205 Madison Avenue, Madison, N.J., 07940.
Keep Father DeMattia, all his family and friends, and all the priests of the Paterson Diocese in your prayers, especially at the Eucharist.
Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Paterson.
