John Matz

John Jacob Matz passed away in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday, August 16, 2022.

He was 85 and surrounded by his family.

John was born on June 4, 1937, in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, to the proud parents of Joseph and Aileen Matz.  John was the last child of 12 brothers and sisters. He enjoyed being part of a big happy, loving family and enjoyed wonderful memories of the house and fabulous property in Big Stone Gap. In 1954, John’s parents sold the property and moved to Kissimmee, Florida. John stayed in Virginia and finished 10th grade then moved to Kissimmee to join his parents.

John enrolled in Osceola High School and finished his last two years of high school there. He met new friends, played trombone in the school band, and joined on their basketball team.

In 1956, John enrolled into Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. In his freshman year, he met Ann Harper. By his sophomore year John and Ann were a couple. They enjoyed their college years together and the experiences they shared. On June 4, 1960, just five days after graduation, John and Ann were married in the Methodist Church in Kissimmee, Florida.

It was the beginning of nearly 60 wonderful years together as husband and wife. It was a harmonious and loving marriage. John and Ann were inseparable soulmates—completely in tune with each other. They had two sons, John and Jeffrey. John was a caring, loving, and supportive husband and father. He was a true family man. John was patient, a good listener, and wonderful teacher. He put everyone’s needs before his own. Ann was an only child but she loved John's big family.

John and Ann moved to Orlando in 1960 where John started a lifetime career with Sears, Roebuck and Company as a successful and respected sales manager.

John, Ann and both sons enjoyed boating, waterskiing, and fishing in various Florida lakes and waterways, including the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. Some of John’s best vacation memories were boating and fishing in the Florida Keys, Sanibel, and Captiva Islands. John and Ann’s true sanctuary though was their home in the mountains just outside Waynesville, North Carolina. John took great pride in caring for and maintaining the property he loved so much.

John is survived by his two sons, John Day Matz and Jeffrey Harper Matz and his wife Lyle Matz in Orlando, Florida. Sisters Ruth Morris, Mary Ellen Outen. John was predeceased by his loving wife Ann H. Matz. His parents Joseph and Aileen Matz, siblings, Josephine Wells, Dorothy Larsen, Dan Matz, Gay Lynch, Regina Cury, Clarice Stewart, Joe Matz, Marguerite Bolden, and Barbara Decker.