Joe Mattis

General Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Rest in Peace Joe Mattis

The Gannon University athletic department and the University lost a valued member, and more importantly, a cherished friend with the passing of Joe Mattis on Friday, May 30. A Gannon graduate, Joe served as the women's golf volunteer assistant coach for 13 years before passing away following a brief illness at the age of 78.

Joe graduated from Gannon with a Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Management in 1969. He worked as an engineer and administrator at General Telephone Company of Pennsylvania for 12 years before finding his true calling as a sportswriter for the Erie Morning News and Erie Times-News for 24 years.

From 1984 to 2008 Joe covered Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), Erie's minor league baseball teams (Erie Cardinals, Erie Orioles, Erie Sailors, and Erie SeaWolves), the Erie Otters, local college basketball and football, professional auto racing (including NASCAR and Formula 1).

But he made his greatest impact while putting tireless energy into District 10 high school sports. He gained the trust, admiration and respect of many of the greatest area coaches.

As a member of the Gannon women's golf staff he helped the Golden Knights earn eight PSAC championships, including the last ten years working with head coach Scott Stano. He also took great pride in serving as the historian and statistician for the women's golf program.

He was inducted into the Metropolitan Erie Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Gannon Athletics Hall of Fame as the 2017 Distinguished Service Award recipient. He has been a long-time member of the Gannon Hall of Fame Committee.

A devoted Catholic, Joe was a member of Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Parish for nearly 50 years and was active in many parish organizations and functions.  He possessed a true love for the church and the ideals that Gannon stood for. He looked forward to saying the prayer before the Gannon men's and women's basketball games, and one of his last public acts was saying the prayer prior to this year's playoff games.

Joe was preceded in in death by his wife, Patricia (Ropelewski) Mattis, whom he married in 1969, an identical twin brother, John Mattis and sister Caroline Swanson.

He is survived by two children, daughter Mary Mattis (husband Mike Broome), and son, Michael Mattis (wife Andrea) of Pittsburgh; one sister, Lois Castaldi (husband Thomas), two granddaughters, Kaitlynn Libby and Aubree Peterson-Spanard; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Friends and family may call at the Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home, 5000 Wattsburg Road on Tuesday, June 3 from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. and are invited to a funeral mass at Holt Rosary Roman Catholic Parish, 2701 East Ave. on Wednesday, June 4 at 10:00 a.m. 
 
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