Mattina was model mailman in Biloxi

BILOXI -- They don't make mailmen like they used to, according to people who grew up knowing Joseph "Joe" Mattina Jr., a Biloxi native who grew up on Point Cadet.

Mattina worked for the U.S. Post Office 34 years in an era when those who delivered mail knew everyone in town.

He died on Christmas Day. He had celebrated his 95th birthday about a month ago.

"He was one of those memories of a bygone era," said Vincent Creel, Biloxi public affairs manager.

Creel called Mattina "the coolest of what they used to call mailmen. He was a mailman, not a letter carrier. The mailmen back then knew all."

"Many a time I would see him inside Grandma or Grandpa Creel's house on Reynoir Street, having a cup of coffee or a quick bite to eat," Creel said.

Mattina also was known to hang out at the Back Bay fire station on breaks from his mail route and to meet friends at a popular drug store, where the friends cooked their own meals in the back of the store.

"He was a great fellow," Creel said. "Always had a smile on his face, and he knew everybody."

Mattina was a Biloxi High graduate and athlete who held several track records at the school for many years. He also was a member of the school's 1939 state championship basketball team and a member of the Big 8 championship football team.

He was inducted into the Biloxi Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

Mattina served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and became a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

He played community softball in his younger years and was known as an avid hunter. He was a charter member of the Bluff Creek Hunting Club.

His wife of 50 years, Leora Burch Mattina, died in 1988.

The USPS honored Mattina in 2007 as one of three 50-year surviving retirees.

Visitation is set for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, followed by a mass of Christian burial at noon.

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Mattina was model mailman in Biloxi ."