Roy Mathison, Former Lindenhurst Mayor, Dies at 79

Roy Mathison, former Lindenhurst Village Mayor, has passed away. He was 79. Mathison's Lindenhurst Village officials to have died in the past week.

Born and raised in Lindenhurst, he graduated from in 1950, and went on to get his degree in secondary education from SUNY Oswego.

Mathison worked in the for 32 years. In that time he was a teacher at and a principal at Kellum Street Elementary School and . He retired from Lindenhurst Schools in 1990, according to district officials.

A U.S. Army veteran, Mathison served the first as trustee, from 1988 to 1996, then as mayor for one term, from 1996 to 2000. He also served for a time as deputy mayor during his tenure as trustee. He retired from public office in 2000.

He was also a parks police officer (trooper), according to Mayor Tom Brennan.

Brennan remembered Mathison, who first appointed him as Village trustee in 1999.

"He was a really great guy - very family-oriented," the mayor told Lindenhurst Patch about Mathison on Friday. "I'll remember him as a really good mayor."

Village Administrator Shawn Cullinane agreed with that assessment, telling Patch that, "There was no doubt that he was very dedicated. He was very active in the community. He really poured his heart and soul into what he did. He wasn't concerned about partisan politics; he really wanted to just do what's right for the Village. He was concerned about the community as a whole."

Mathison is survived by his wife, Gloria, his three children - Roy, Karen Rostan, Chris - and two siblings - Margaret Kingland and .

He'll be reposed at on Sunday, February 19, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. On Monday, February 20, he'll be interred at Long Island National Cemetary on Pinelawn Road.