Former NH Register Reporter Ann DeMatteo: We Will Miss You

By Hamden Patch editor Kate Ramunni

On Sunday morning, former New Haven Register reporter Ann Dematteo passed away from cancer at St. Raphael's Hospital.

Those are probably the hardest words I've ever typed in my journalism career, and words I had been praying for months I would not have to write.

It seems like everyone in Hamden knew Ann. She covered the town long before I even set foot in a journalism class. Her byline was a fixture in the Register as she chronicled the town's happenings for decades.

When I was named the editor of the then-new Hamden Journal in the spring of 1998, the prospect of going up against Ann was terrifying. How could I possibly compete against such a local journalism legend?

But from the first Legislative Council meeting I attended, Ann was kind, considerate and always ready to lend a helping hand. While we were competitors, we were more importantly friends.

I was so happy to reconnect with Ann when I took the job of editor of Hamden Patch almost three years ago. I had followed her successful battle of breast cancer through her weekly columns in the Register (the last of which can be found here) and was so happy to be working beside her once again.

So when she was named the managing editor of the Middletown Press last fall I was both happy for her — it was quite an achievement journalistically — but also sad at the prospect of covering the town without her there with me. 

But then came the shattering news that the cancer had returned, and this time it had spread. And the praying began.

On Sunday, news of her passing left behind a trail of broken hearts. Both her personal Facebook page and one created after her final illness struck — Friends of Ann DeMatteo, with 600 members as of Sunday afternoon — are filled with tributes from friends, co-workers and the many people whose lives she touched, including through her work with the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Organization.

Reporters aren't always the most popular people in the towns they cover. It's a testament to Ann's character that at recent Hamden Legislative Council meetings, council president Judi Kozak has called for a moment of silence to remember the battle the Ann was fighting. 

Since covering Hamden, I've never heard anyone say a bad word about Ann. And it's not because she didn't take on the tough issues — she did, and well — but because she was able to do it while at the same time maintaining relationships with the people she covered. That's not something many journalists do well, but she was the best.

My heart goes out to Ann's family, and especially her mother, who is now dealing with the loss of a second daughter. Ann's sister Karen, also a friend of mine from years ago, was tragically murdered in an act of domestic violence many years ago. To lose two daughters so tragically is inconceivable. 

The state has lost one of its journalistic stars today, and so many of us have lost a cherished friend. The world is a bit bleaker from her passing, but we are all so lucky to have had Ann DeMatteo a part of our lives.