Brother of Karen & Laura Mattimore ’84 passed away:

Gregory A. Mattimore, a retired Toledo police detective who, on duty or off, readily sized up people, places, and situations, died Thursday in ProMedica Toledo Hospital after a crash in Sylvania Township. He was 58.He was eastbound in the 8500 block of West Sylvania Avenue about 7 p.m. Thursday when his vehicle went off the south side of the road, township police said. The vehicle re-entered the road and crossed the center line, colliding with a westbound vehicle. The other driver, whose injuries were not specified, also was taken to the hospital.Mr. Mattimore, of Temperance, retired from the Toledo Police Department in December, 2020. He was a 1995 graduate of the police academy, as was his brother John, who remains on the police force.After service as a patrol officer, he worked in the vice-narcotics unit and then as a detective, where solving murders was among his daily challenges.”He liked the detective side of it,” said his father, Jack Mattimore, who was a longtime Whitmer High School teacher and coach. “He liked best trying to figure out what happened.”He added that both of his police officer sons “were level-headed. They were both smart.”Mr. Mattimore’s sister Laura recalled hearing from their mother that Greg was reading news magazines at age 3 and debating fine points of spelling.”He was really, really smart, which you obviously need to have as a detective,” his sister said. “He had the wit to match anyone. At any event with him, you wanted to be with him to be entertained.”Laughter just followed him, whatever part of the room he was in.”Through that wit, “he captured what everyone was thinking in a few words,” she said, adding that she was impressed by “his ability to size up a situation quickly and capture the essence of it.”Professionally, “that served him well, as he was practical and tough-nosed and hard as nails,” his sister said. “He was a very caring and empathetic person, but he was able to distance himself. He could do that in a way he needed to in that profession.”He didn’t take part in organized youth sports while growing up, his father said, but developed an interest in weight lifting.”He always worked out. His idea is if somebody is going to come after me, I have to be strong,” his father said.He was born Oct. 24, 1963, to John and Ursula Mattimore, and grew up in South Toledo. He was a 1981 of St. John’s Jesuit High School. He took on odd jobs for a time and worked for a security company.”I kept telling him, ‘If you’re going to be a cop, you might as well be a cop. You ought to take the [police] test,'” his father said. Afterward, both Greg and John successfully passed the test to enter the police academy.Mr. Mattimore followed Ohio State sports, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He didn’t play golf regularly until retirement and last summer sank a hole in one.Surviving are his parents, Ursula and John Mattimore; brothers John Mattimore and Gary Mattimore, and sisters Karen Mattimore and Laura Mattimore.Visitation will be from 2-8 p.m. Friday at Coyle Funeral Home, where a brief service will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The family requests that face masks be worn at visitation.The family suggests tributes to the Toledo Police Foundation or a charity of the donor’s choice.Published by The Blade on Jan. 12, 2022.