Robert "Rob" William Mattingly

Robert William Mattingly

Age 47. Rob was born April 7, 1973. He was the son of Stephen P. Mattingly and M. Jeannine (Kreider) Mattingly of Carmel (formerly of Indianapolis). Rob passed away August 30, 2020 in Springfield, Tennessee.

Rob was preceded in death by his grandparents, Charles Lex and Florence Mattingly, and Robert and Lee Kreider, all of Indianapolis.

He is survived by his parents and his brothers, Kyle Mattingly of Cicero, Indiana and Benjamin Mattingly of North Carolina. He is also survived by his biological, half-siblings: Kathy Stewart Pennington, James Burton, Thomas Upchurch, and Candy Pounds as well as by his birth parents, Glenda Stewart of Texas and Ralph Passmore of Louisiana.

Rob came to live with the Mattingly’s at age 13. Robert William Burton Mattingly was officially adopted on his 15th birthday in 1988. He came from The Villages, a home for neglected children in Bedford, Indiana. Very loving house-parents, Joe and Carol Kovach, and some great counseling by Janet Jones and support through this organization helped him on the road to success. Rob was very fond of these three adults.

Rob, called Bobby as a youngster and later Bob or Robert, and finally Rob, bounced around during his childhood living from Texas, to Mississippi, to Colorado, to many cities in central and southern Indiana, living with several different families.

Bobby was a happy child who loved to talk and loved to read, enjoying school and sports. He embraced learning new things as well as making new friends wherever he lived. He enjoyed gaining an older brother, once adopted, someone with whom to pal around. No baby or toddler ever had a better big brother than Kyle had in Rob, who proudly carried his younger sibling on his shoulders. Rob was grateful to gain a permanent family at nearly fourteen years of age and did not go through the normal rebellious teen stage. He had an early morning paper route with his brother Ben and rode his bicycle to school. He worked part time during holidays for an uncle in a men’s clothing store. This outgoing youngster brought sunshine and joy to our family.

Rob attended Stoneybrook Middle School and Warren Central High School. He ran cross country and track and participated in wrestling. In middle school he was selected to represent Stonybrook at the Boy’s Leadership Conference in Bloomington. He enjoyed photography and electricity classes on top of his college prep courses at Warren Central, where he photographed sporting events and helped with the school yearbook.

He transferred to Cathedral High School where he ran cross country and track as a non-scoring senior and earned the Mental Attitude Award. He also started a club to help with racial integration of students after seeing the minorities sitting by themselves in the school cafeteria. He graduated from Cathedral High School following in the footsteps of his dad and his Mattingly grandfather.

Rob attended Purdue University, starting out as an Electrical Engineering Technology major because of his love for all things electrical. He had a ball spending his free time as a disc jockey, before enlisting in the

U.S. Navy where he served for three years, spending most of his enlistment on the Mediterranean Sea. While working full-time in the hotel business, he took classes at Ivy Tech, nearly earning his Associates Degree, earning a 4.0 and making the Dean’s List.

Rob worked as an electrician for a number of years and then entered the hotel industry, taking jobs in Indianapolis; Bloomington; Erie, PA; and Nashville, TN. Working as Chief Engineer for the Hilton Garden Inn and then Marriott proved to be a good fit for a man who loved to fix things. He was proud of the awards he earned with some of his initiatives for his company. Rob always kept busy and loved the challenges of his job as well as the chance to meet lots of people.

He could repair most anything or would at least try. He worked on his cars and trucks, did electrical wiring and some carpentry, furniture refinishing, wallpapering, and painting, and loved to cook.

He bought a darling house in Springfield, with a wraparound porch that had been built in 1900. He and girlfriend Marilyn had all kinds of plans for fixing up that house, so many that we thought he would still be working on it when he was 100!

Rob had always been close to his biological sister; and he was elated when a biological brother found him about three years ago, leading to his discovery of another brother and his mother and eventually, to his birth father, who didn’t even know Rob existed! They had a wonderful time getting acquainted.

Rob was truly a great guy, a much-loved son and brother—to two families–a fun, caring, helpful friend to many. From foster child to self-made man, Rob’s persistence and accomplishments could not make us prouder.

Close family, including Rob’s biological family, laid him to rest Tuesday. Due to COVID-19, the family did not feel it safe to gather in a large group to celebrate his life, as they would have preferred.

Many of you have asked what you can do for us. In lieu of flowers or anything else, we would most appreciate your support of any of the organizations listed below, or you might send letters to your congressmen and legislators in support of better mental health care and a culture where people are treated rather than ignored, shamed, fired, or jailed.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org)

4301 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22203 430

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFFSP)

199 Water St. 11th Floor, New York, NY 10038

Rob Mattingly Memorial Fund

https://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=cms.home

The Villages (group homes for kids in need)

3833 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208 https://www.villageskids.org/about-us/history/

There is an impressive timeline of this organization’s growth from the 80s to present day on their web page.