John N. Matotek

John Nicholas Matotek age 95, of Beaver Falls Pennsylvania passed away peacefully on Thursday April 13, 2023. He resided at Concordia at Villa St. Joseph in Baden, Pennsylvania.

John was born on November 6 in Pulaski Pennsylvania and was the son of the late Emilia (Kovac) Matotek and Raymond Matotek.  John was retired from Babcock & Wilcox steel mill in Beaver Falls, Pa., where he worked in the Hot Finish shipping department for 43 years.  He served in WWII at the end of the war in the Army.  John was a devoted husband and father to his 4 children and grandfather to his 5 grandchildren. He enjoyed the outdoors and spent many hours puttering around his yard and “haven” in the wooded area behind the property. He was an active member of the Hot Finish Bowling team and took great pride in bowling a perfect game. He loved to try his luck at gambling and took bus trips to Atlantic City and was a daily player of the Pennsylvania lottery. Despite this daily ritual, he would tell everyone, “Don’t gamble, it doesn’t pay.”  He was known for his quick wit, which won the heart of his wife Theresa. In a ruse to get a chance to meet her while at a picnic, he and his friends told her and her friends that the car they pulled up in had a flat tire. After he and his friends offered to help the “damsels in distress,” they fessed up that it was all a joke.

He is survived by his four children Judy (Mike) Lutz of Industry, Jim Matotek, Ellwood City, Jack (Alesia) Matotek, Economy and Janet (Mike) Lasko, Sparta NJ as well as five grandchildren, Joshua and Jakob Matotek and Ashley, Alyssa and Cassandra Lasko, brother and sister-in-law, Matt and Lillian Stimac and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Theresa Matotek; four brothers, Frank, Steve, Lou, and Pete Matotek; daughter-in-law, Sue Matotek.

Friends will be received Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. in J & J Spratt Funeral Home, 1612 Third Ave, New Brighton.  Prayers will be held Monday at 9:30 a.m. in the funeral home, followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m. in Our Lady of the Valley, Holy Family Parish, New Brighton.  Brother John Harvey officiating.

Interment will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Beaver Falls.

In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made to the Croatian Fraternal Union Scholarship Fund, 100 Delaney Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15235.

The Beaver County Special Unit will provide military honors on Monday at 11:15 a.m. in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Beaver Falls.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Concordia at Villa St. Joseph, Good Samaritan Hospice and Lakeview Personal Care for the loving care and compassion for John.

May he rest in eternal peace.

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