Richard Robert Matte Sr., 80, passed away on February 10, 2026. He was born on July 2, 1945, at Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, Massachusetts, and graduated from Dracut High School, Class of 1963.

In his early years, Dick worked alongside his father helping run the family's neighborhood market, located in their home in Dracut. From a young age, he learned the values of hard work, responsibility, family, and community, lessons that would shape the rest of his life.

As a young man, Dick was an avid baseball player and fierce competitor, developing a lifelong love of the game that would later shape his years as a coach and leader. After earning his Associate's Degree in Business from Andover Business School, he began his professional career in management with W.T. Grant Company. He worked at various store locations throughout Connecticut and New York and often spoke fondly of his time at the company's corporate office at 1 Astor Place in Times Square, enjoying an office on the 56th floor overlooking Central Park.

Dick met the love of his life, Donna Virginia Matte (Lane), at the VA Hospital in Bedford, where he worked as an orderly caring for Vietnam veterans returning home from war. Donna was a young nurse just beginning her career. With his characteristic charm and easy smile, he won her heart. They married in May of 1967 and built a life defined by loyalty, partnership, and family. Over 58 years of marriage, they created a home filled with energy, discipline, humor, and unwavering support.

After his time in retail management, Dick purchased what would become his family's lifelong home on Lake Todd in Newbury, New Hampshire,  at the time just a small summer cottage. With determination and vision, he moved his growing family north to begin a new chapter. A tireless worker and devoted provider for his family of seven, he held numerous positions over the years, including serving as Transportation Director for the Kearsarge School District (SAU 65), where his own children were educated.

He ultimately found his calling in public service, joining the Newbury, New Hampshire Police Department. His work in law enforcement became the foundation for a long and influential career in campus safety and security.

Dick went on to serve as Director of Safety and Security at New England College, Director of Safety and Security at St. Lawrence University, and later Head of Safety and Security at Colgate University. Throughout his career, he influenced countless young people and helped provide a safe and structured college experience for generations of students. He was known for balancing discipline with fairness, often understanding that growth sometimes required both accountability and a second chance. During this time, he also provided security details for national and international leaders including Secretary of State Colin Powell, Speaker Newt Gingrich, actress Geena Davis, and the Dalai Lama.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Dick helped reshape the culture of higher education security. He believed campus safety extended beyond enforcement to mentorship, student development, and protection. He introduced bicycle patrol units and helped establish a security training school at Middlebury College. Later, he founded his own consulting firm, advising colleges and universities across the United States on modernizing and professionalizing campus security programs. His philosophy was shaped not only by his experience in law enforcement, but also by raising four energetic sons and a daughter; lessons learned at home informed his steady, practical approach to working with generations of college students.

For more than 40 years, Dick and Donna made their home on Lake Todd, where they raised their family and built lifelong friendships. Life on the lake was more than a setting,  it was a gathering place filled with laughter, cookouts, birthdays, graduation celebrations, long conversations, and a steady view across the water. It was a place where family and friends relaxed, celebrated milestones, and loved one another deeply. Those years were marked by coaching Little League baseball, cheering on his children and grandchildren in countless games and events, and embracing the rhythms of lake life.

He was a lifelong Boston sports fan and an original Boston Patriots supporter. Sunday afternoons in the fall were a sacred ritual in the Matte home, marked by loyalty, perseverance, and the long-suffering dedication of early Patriots fandom. He was a dedicated community member, a former member of the Kearsarge School Board, and a man who valued self-reliance, tradition, and family. He enjoyed spirited but respectful debate.

Beyond titles and accomplishments, Dick was known to many as "Coach," "Chief," and "Director." He was loyal, disciplined, quick with humor, and unwavering in his belief that "blood is thicker than water." He always had the backs of those he loved.

He was predeceased by his parents, Roger Matte Sr. and Pauline Matte, and by his older brother, Roger Matte Jr.

He is survived by his beloved wife Donna; his brother Donald Matte Sr. of Fall River, Massachusetts; his children Richard Jr., Keith, Eric, Todd, and Carrie; their spouses Rebecca, Christine, Kristin, Kirsha, and Jason; his grandchildren Keith Paul Jr., Benjamin, Alexis, Elizabeth, Tate, Ayla, Gerad, Zachary, Caleb, Jasper, Mae, and Griffin; and his great-grandchild Kairo, a growing Matte legacy that continues forward.

He is also survived by his lifelong friend Judge Edward Tenney, Ed's wife Holly, and their children Allison, Mariah, and Matthew, whom Dick and Donna loved as their own grandchildren.

Dick will be remembered for his steady leadership, his devotion to family, his commitment to service, and the many lives he guided and protected. His legacy lives on in the institutions he strengthened, the students he mentored, and the family he loved fiercely.

He built a life of loyalty, protection, and presence and in doing so, built generations who will carry his strength forward.

Services for Dick will be held at St. Marguerite D' Youville Rel 1340 Lakeview Ave. Dracut, Massachusetts on March 14th at 10 a.m. and a luncheon afterwards will be announced.