Gerald Matera, 84, of Horse Cave, KY, died on July 18, 2025, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jerry was the former editor of the Hart County News-Herald and a former director of community education for Hart County Schools.
Jerry was born in White Plains, New York, on March 28, 1941, to Italian immigrant parents, Anibale and Lucy Matera. He graduated from Archbishop Stepinac High School and from Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Maryland. While studying for a Masters degree at Temple University in Philadelphia, he met and married Elizabeth Ann Chaney, his wife for more than 60 years.
Jerry and Ann moved to Horse Cave in 1966, where their daughters Corinth and Elizabeth were born and raised. Jerry taught English and Spanish at Munfordville High School and Temple Hill High School in the 1960s before going to work for the newspapers owned by Dorothy and Aubrey Wilson. In the early 1990s, Jerry served for several years as the community education director for the Hart County School system, where he was instrumental in creating the Leadership Hart County program, the Hart County Choral Society, and community resource centers in each county school. He returned to his newspaper work for several years at the end of his career under Jobe Publishing. As a reporter, photographer, and editor, Jerry visited every corner of Hart County and was a familiar figure at sports and community events.
Beyond his professional work, Jerry led and participated in many important community initiatives, including the founding of the Hart County Boy Scout troop, appointment to the Caveland Sanitation Authority and membership on the board of directors for Horse Cave Theatre. He was a loyal member of the Rotary Club, for which he wrote the weekly bulletin for many years. He was also an active member of the Hart County Environmental Group and led their recycling program. He helped organize and lead the Munfordville Battlefield Trek and worked to update and refurbish important historical markers. In 2023, Jerry and Ann were given the Roy A Cann Award by the Hart County Historical Society.
Jerry was a long-time, devoted parishioner of Our Lady of the Caves Catholic Church. He was proud to have supported the rebuilding of the church after it burned in December, 2016. His commitment to his faith continued after his move to Minnesota, where he was a regular attendee at St. Helena’s Catholic Church in Minneapolis.
He was an avid reader and tennis player and a devoted fan of the New York Yankees and University of Louisville basketball.
Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, four siblings–Anne Ciaramella, Katherine Bresmon, Joseph Matera, and Carmine Matera, his father-in-law Boots Chaney, and his brother-in-law Tom Chaney. He is survived by his wife, his daughters, Corinth Matera (Mary) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Elizabeth Matera of Morehead, Kentucky, his sister Nancy Varian of Yonkers, New York, and many nieces and nephews across the nation.
A Funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of the Caves on Saturday, August 16th, 2025, at 11:00AM CST, followed by a burial service at the Horse Cave Municipal Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Saturday, August 16th, 2025, from 10:00AM CST until the time of the service at 11:00AM CST, at Our Lady of the Caves.
In addition to the church, donations may be made in his name to the American Cave Conservation Association or the Hart County Historical Society.
Local Arrangements are under the direction of Winn Funeral Home, Horse Cave, Kentucky.
Condolences may be expressed online at www.winnfuneralhome.com
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