Funeral for state assemblyman's father, Joseph Gatto, set for Monday

Funeral for state assemblyman’s father, Joseph Gatto, set for Monday

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California Assemblyman Mike Gatto speaks to reporters near the Silver Lake home of his father, Joseph Gatto, who was found fatally shot there late Wednesday. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

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Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge consoles Lauren Wayne, a friend of the Gatto family. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Members of the media gather at the place in Silver Lake where Joseph Gatto was killed. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said the Police Department had started an “aggressive investigation” into his death. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Investigators scour Bright Lane in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood for clues about the death of Joseph Gatto. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Crime lab personnel carry a door removed from Joseph Gatto’s home in Silver Lake. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

By Kate Mather and Ari Bloomekatz

Nov. 25, 2013 7:22 AM PT

A funeral mass for Joseph Gatto -- a retired arts teacher and the father of state assemblyman Mike Gatto -- is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday.

The public service will take place at Our Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Los Feliz, according to Gatto’s office. A burial and a reception “strictly limited to family and close friends” will follow.

Police are still investigating Gatto’s shooting.

Joseph Gatto, 78, was found dead on Nov. 13 at his home on Bright Lane. Coroner’s officials have said he died from a gunshot to the abdomen.

In Silver Lake the homicide was a rarity, the first in the neighborhood since May 2012, according to the Times’ Homicide Report.

The retired teacher was an accomplished artist and is remembered by many students as a valued mentor.

Robert Vargas, an artist who recently painted the “Our Lady of DTLA” mural on the corner of 6th and Spring streets, described Gatto as “a pillar in my foundation as a young artist.”

“His teaching style was very honest, it was very direct,” Vargas said. “He challenged and inspired us to pull from within ourselves and not be afraid of that path of discovery, wherever that may lead us.”

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