Deacon Larry Damato moved to St. Louis from NJ in March 1991. He was ordained in the Diocese of Paterson, NJ in 1989 and served at Our Lady of the Valley Church in Wayne, NJ until his move to St. Louis. He married his wife, Barbara, in January 1959 and they have two children, Michael and Christine and four grandchildren.

Larry was assigned to Sacred Heart Church in Valley Park in June 1992 and actively served in his diaconal ministry until his 70th birthday, July 1, 2005.

Larry and Barbara have always lived in St. Joseph Parish and Larry decided to offer his services to Father Santen after retirement on an "as needed" basis. At the time St. Joseph did not have any active Deacons.

Larry serves the parish in many ways. He leads Communion services on Thursdays at the West County Care Center. He is chaplain of the Knights of Columbus chapter based in the parish, assists when needed at funerals and committal services, baptisms, weekend masses, etc. He also visits the homebound and is a Stephen Minister. He always makes himself available to serve where needed and is very happy to be a member of St. Joseph Parish.