Joseph Francis Mattick, 86, a university professor emeritus of dairy technology, responsible for the creation of several ice cream flavors, died Oct. 2 from lung failure.

“[University of Maryland] was not his alma mater, but it was his first love,” said Mattick’s brother, Leonard. Mattick was devoted to the university, his students, and the College Park community, said his grandson, Chad Burn.

Mattick became a professor in the Dairy Science Department at the university after leaving the military; he remained on staff until his retirement in 1984. While at the university, he worked on ways to preserve dairy projects. He also helped invent several flavors for the campus dairy, said Burn.

Mattick was born November 16, 1918, in what was then Hudson, Pennsylvania, according to his brother. He attended Penn State University, famed for its dairy program, and graduated with a degree in dairy manufacturing. He later earned his doctorate in 1950.

After graduating in 1942 he joined the military and served in World War II until the end of the war. Mattick also served during the Korean War, and left in 1954. “He was a patriotic individual, his country came first,” said Leonard.

Following his years of military duty, Mattick displayed a strong devotion to education, Burn said. Mattick’s brother, who also worked in the dairy field, encountered many of Mattick’s former students, who told him they knew if they ever need help they, “could get it from Doc Mattick.”

Mattick was also known for his odd sense of humor. “He was always good for a joke, always good for a prank; he could take a one-minute joke and extend it to five,” said Leonard. His brother remembered an encounter with one of Mattick’s graduate students, who recognized the joking style of his former professor and said, “Boy, that’s a Mattick joke.”

The amiable competition between the Mattick brothers extended beyond the world of cow udders and ice cream to supporting their college teams.

“Even after he retired [he] was purchasing tickets for the basketball and football games,” said Burn, of his grandfather, an avid Terp fan.

Mattick and his wife, June Madeline Leverett Cleaver, were very involved in the surrounding community of College Park. Mattick was involved with the Terrapin Club, the College Park Rotary Club and the Dairy Technology Association while living in College Park, according to The Gazette.

Despite the death of his wife in 1998, Mattick chose to stick around the college town he loved and lived in for more than five decades.

He is survived by a sister, Johanna Connelli; his brother Leonard Mattick, of Geneva, N.Y.; and three grandchildren, according to The Gazette.

Contact reporter Will Skowronski at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.