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Tyler Mattingly’s life-long dream was to be a St. Mary’s County Deputy Sheriff. At Tyler’s funeral on Friday Sheriff Tim Cameron made that dream come true. Sheriff Cameron during the funeral at Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home read an order naming Tyler a deputy and presented his badge to the family.

Tyler Mattingly, 17, died in a a car accident on August 11 in Park Hall. He was a volunteer with the sheriff’s office and a recent graduate of Great Mills High School. Sheriff Cameron in a letter to the community after Tyler’s death praised the young man for his dedication to the department.

Tyler worked in the Sheriff’s Office of Public Information, doing research on their 375th anniversary. He was so diligent in his research that he was able to positively identify all St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s. According to the sheriff’s office, State Archivist Dr. Edward Pappenfuss praised Mattingly in a letter to the sheriff, citing “the exceptional high standards of documentation” in the research.

The funeral home was packed with members of the sheriff’s department and family and friends and a police escort led the funeral entourage to the cemetery.