Colleen Mattingly

 

Colleen Mattingly, 93, of Carmel, Indiana passed away on November 17, 2023. She was born on February 3, 1930, in Oakland City, Indiana.

Growing up, Colleen and her sister, Sabra enjoyed spending time with her mother’s large extended family and Colleen especially loved visiting the local library, which was conveniently just two blocks away from their home. Education was everything to Colleen, who skipped a grade, loved doing everyone’s homework, and was known as the class and family grammarian. After graduating high school, she continued to pursue her love of learning at Evansville College where she earned a teaching degree.

After earning her BA at Evansville, where she was affectionately known as “Campus Cutie”, Colleen married the love of her life, William (Bill) M. Mattingly, and they were happily married for 72 years. Colleen and Bill built a life together in New City, New York where they lived for 12 years and had five children. With 12 FBI families in their New City neighborhood, get-togethers, carpooling, and childcare responsibilities were rotated and affectionately shared. In 1967, the family moved back to their home state of Indiana, settling in Terre Haute. After several years as a homemaker, Colleen returned to work to support her children's college education and dedicated 17 years to being an Elementary Education Title 1 Math teacher, where she taught students grammar during class and often joined them in roller skating during recess. Colleen completed her MA in 1968 at Indiana State University. A career in teaching allowed for joyous daily summer outings to the pool, beach, or lake with her children, an activity she relished.

Colleen was a selfless and steadfast presence of generosity and unconditional love in Mattingly family life and was known for her sense of humor and quick wit. Both sharp and competitive, Colleen was an avid bridge player from the age of 12, often participating in three groups simultaneously and always had a crossword puzzle in hand. She was also a dedicated Indianapolis sports fan, supporting her Pacers and Colts brought her great joy and she attended many games with Bill.

Colleen loved a great book, a Sinatra song in the background, a Hedy Lamarr movie, and a well-balanced Manhattan. She loved to laugh and delighted in her deep friendships, many of which lasted decades. Colleen's love extended to 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, and she adored spending time with them. She used to say: "They can be bought, and I'm buying!"

She is survived by her husband of 72 years, William M. Mattingly, children Patrick (Jill) Mattingly Dinah (Larry) Bird, Anne (Dave) Mann, Doug Mattingly, and Jane (David) Brim; 11 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her sister, Sabra Zursdtadt, daughter-in-law Natalie Mattingly, and great-grandchild Charles Mattingly.

A Mass of Christian Burial to celebrate Colleen's life will be held on December 1, 2023, at 11:00 am at Saint Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church in Zionsville, Indiana. Visitation will precede the service at 10:00 am, with a light lunch reception following the mass. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Alzheimer’s Association for Research, 50 E 91st St. Suite 100, Indianapolis, IN 46240 or online at www.alz.org

To livestream the service, please visit https://zionsvillecatholic.com/livestream.