WESTERLO — Robert F. Matott had the heart of Santa Claus.

“He was the life of the party,” said his wife, Lisa Matott. “And he was always giving.”

Mr. Matott had a passion for motorcycles. “My husband made toy runs for Toys for Tots all summer with different motorcycle groups,” said Mrs. Matott. He topped his helmet with a Santa hat and decorated his Harley with Christmas lights.

“I bought him a sack to put his toys in, to donate,” said his wife. “He always had one for a boy and one for a girl … My husband was one of a kind.”

He died on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. He was 55.

Born on Jan. 27, 1963, he was the son of the late Belva LaDuke, who worked for the state, and William Matott, who had his own construction company. His mother died when he was 10.

Mr. Matott was raised in Voorheesville, and graduated from Clayton A. Bouton High School.  “He was into sports,” said his wife and played basketball and football. “He loved to write poems,” she said.

The couple met when they both worked for The Daughters of Sarah Nursing Center — she in housekeeping and he in maintenance.

“We noticed each other in the breakroom,” said Mrs. Matott who described him as “gorgeous.”

“I didn’t approach him,” she said. “He was leaving me notes on my time card but someone was pulling them off … He told my friend he was interested in me.”

She described Mr. Matott, showing up for their first date on Nov. 18, 1987. “I’m all decked out — I didn’t wear make-up at work — and when he opened the door, his mouth dropped. He said I looked like Joan Jett.”

“You have ups and downs in a marriage,” said Mrs. Matott. “We were one so it didn’t defeat us. He was my rock.”

The Matotts have lived in Westerlo for the past 25 years and Mr. Matott worked for Price Chopper for the past 12. He baked for the grocery-store chain. “His specialty was doughnuts and artisan bread,” said Mrs. Matott. “When they moved him to different stores, customers would follow him.”

He also enjoyed baking and cooking at home. “He doesn’t eat mayonnaise but he would make tuna salad for myself and our daughters,” said Mrs. Matott. “He made it just for me and the girls.”

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Robert F. Matott is survived by his wife, Lisa Carroll Matott; his children, Heather Matott and her boyfriend, Joseph Korkemaz of Bethlehem and Haley Schager and her husband, James, of Clarksville; his sister, Bonnie Hughes of Preston Hollow; his grandchildren, Oliver Schager and Liam and Adam LeBlanc; his mother-in-law, Fleda Kolp; and many loving brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews. and cousins.

His brother, William Matott Jr., died before him.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 14, at St. Lucy/St. Bernadette church at 109 Grand St. in Altamont.  Relatives and friends are invited and may also call from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday at the Reilly & Son Funeral Home, 9 Voorheesville Ave., Voorheesville.

Memorial contributions may be made to Toys for Tots.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer