Schuylkill County sheriff deputy loses battle with cancer
Jan. 10—POTTSVILLE — A Schuylkill County sheriff's deputy has lost his battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Matt Dillman, 43, of Ringtown, died Sunday at home, leaving behind a wife, Brandy, a daughter, Kennedy, and other family.
Sheriff Joseph G. Groody said he was on his way to visit Dillman on Sunday when he learned of his death through a text message.
"He's going to be greatly missed by my office. He was an excellent deputy," Groody said Monday.
"You couldn't ask for a better guy to work with," he added, noting he trained Dillman as an officer in the Ashland police department.
Dillman was a part-time deputy since February 2018.
In October 2021, he learned he had cancer and it had metastasized. He had been taking chemotherapy drugs that often made him exhausted.
Groody said employees in the sheriff's department had prayed and hoped he would beat the cancer.
As a tribute, Groody on Monday placed a department hat and coat, a framed department patch and a photo of Dillman on a chair outside the office.
Chief Deputy Brian Tobin is among those feeling the loss of a colleague.
"It's hard for all of us up here," he said Monday.
Tobin called Dillman "a great coworker" who will be missed by everyone in the office.
Dillman said in an interview in November he would continue to fight as hard as he could.
"I absolutely refuse to have this dictate my life," he said.
A fundraiser by sheriff's department employees from Oct. 16 to Dec. 16 raised about $2,500 for expenses associated with Dillman's weekly out-of-state drives for chemotherapy. The Schuylkill Lodge 25 Fraternal Order of Police, of which Dillman was president, also started a fundraiser last week for his medical expenses, Tobin said. T-shirts and sweatshirts are for sale at dillman2023.itemorder.com.
Any money remaining will go to his daughter's education fund c/o Union National Bank, 1 N. Oak St., P.O. Box 367, Mount Carmel, Pa. 17851.
Contact the writer: amarchiano@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6023
