Lifelong Milford resident David Mattar died April 18, 2026. He was 65 years young and lived his life to the absolute fullest, riding his bicycle thousands of miles and skiing many challenging mountains. He started skiing at an early age and never took a lesson.
Born in 1961, he was the youngest son of Sarah and Leonard Mattar. He graduated from Delaware Valley High School in 1978 and embarked on a long career as a skilled woodworker. His woodworking skills were beyond reproach. He accomplished this without formal training. Dave always said to measure twice before making a cut on a piece of wood.
He also was a master at training dogs, or as he would say, you train the owner not the dog. He was so adept at it that he would walk his dogs through Milford without a leash and they would never leave his side. As a 10-year-old he won trophies for his proficiency in dog obedience. He could have any dog behaving with just hand signals, no matter how unruly the dog.
Dave spent many days fishing at a local pond after work, most of the time catching his dinner.
He was a quote machine and had quick answers for every question. Probably the best one was when someone he had just met asked him if he lived in Milford his whole life. He quickly responded, “not yet.”
David had many friends, and they rode bicycles thousands of miles. A 100-mile trip on a Sunday was common. He rode from Pennsylvania to South Carolina, Maine, New Hampshire, and his last bike ride was across the northern tier of Pennsylvania. Dave completed the Five Borough Bicycle Tour of New York City 18 times with a large group of friends from Milford.
He was also a longtime supporter of ABATE of Pike County (Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education) instrumental in developing their first bicycle contingent. He organized many bicycle rides to ABATE functions and poker run fundraisers.
In addition to skiing, he was an excellent ice skater and was instrumental in getting the Milford skating rink up and running at Ann St. Park. Based on Dave’s love of ice skating and years of devotion and volunteerism to the rink, the Borough Council has dedicated the Ann Street ice skating rink as a memorial for Dave.
He is survived by his mother, Sarah, of Newtown, Pa., his brother George and sister-in-law DeBorah of Milford, and his brother John and sister-in-law Jeanne of New Hope, Pa. Also surviving are three nieces and several cousins.
A celebration of his life is being planned.
Arrangements by Stroyan Funeral Home, 405 West Harford St., Milford, Pa. (www.stroyanfuneralhome.com).