A funeral mass was celebrated Nov. 16 at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, North Arlington, for Matthew F. Amato Jr., 64, a lifelong resident of Jersey City. He died Nov. 9. He worked as a counselor for the Hudson County School of Technology for 30 years before retiring in 2009. For the past five years he worked as a columnist and wrote “On The Streets Where We Live” for the Hudson Reporter Newspapers and had previously worked as a reporter for the former Hudson Dispatch Newspaper. He was also a published author and political enthusiast. Over the last several decades he volunteered for a number of civic, ethic and political associations and served as a former deputy mayor in Jersey City and a Greenville Democratic Party Zone Leader from 1973 to 1977. He was the son of the late Matthew and Josephine Amato; the brother of Frances Simplot of Washington state, Phyllis Cali of Montville, Frank Amato of Milltown, Ann Sullivan of North Arlington, and Ralph Amato of Paramus; and the uncle of many nieces and nephews. Services arranged by the Parow Funeral Home, North Arlington.