Obituary of Enrique Jose de la Mata

Enrique Jose de la Mata, 74, of Morgantown, passed away in the early morning of June 28, 2015 at Mon General Hospital. Enrique was born in La Guardia, Toledo, Spain on August 8, 1940 to Enrique Jose de la Mata de la Garcia and Maria Pilar Calvo de Diego. He was a world class soccer player in his younger days – playing for the famous Real Madrid soccer club and representing his country on the Spanish National Team. A cultural exchange program in medical school took him to the Philippines, where he met his wife of 50 years, Lina Marta Ruby Nieves. Enrique and Ruby had been practicing physicians in the state of West Virginia since 1976. Enrique spent more than 20 years as the clinical director of the Olympia Center in Kingwood, WV – servicing adolescents with substance abuse issues. He received numerous rewards throughout his career – including the 1978 Dominion Post Man of the Year – and was instrumental in the creation of the first youth soccer league in the state of West Virginia. He is preceded in death by his parents, Enrique and Pilar, and his sister Pilar. He is survived by his wife, Ruby; sister, Marisa; 3 sons Enrique Juan (Barbara), Mariano (Kimberly) and Luis Felipe (Feather); and 8 grandchildren Saxon Michael (19), Kaitlyn Ashley (19), Ryker Matthew (15), Enrique Joseph (14), Neely Marie (12), Andres David (11), Liliana Marisa (9) and Cruz Luis (10 months). The family wishes to extend our gratitude to Drs. Alan Hess, Michael O'Keefe, Morgan Lyons, John McKnight, John Lobban, Andrzej Jaworski and other emergency, medical and nursing staff of the Mon General Hospital who have taken care of him for the past 20 years. A Memorial Mass will be held at St. John's Catholic Church on Tuesday, June 30, 2015 at 9 AM with Fr. John Paul Heiser, OSB as Celebrant. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Mon General Hospital Foundation. Condolences may be left at Hastingsfuneralhome.com