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A funeral service to honor and celebrate her life will be held on Monday, October 23, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Joldersma & Klein Funeral Home, 917 S. Burdick St., Kalamazoo. Interment will follow at Mount Ever-Rest Cemetery, Kalamazoo, MI. Visitation hours will take place at Joldersma & Klein Funeral Home on Monday, October 23, 2023, from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. Interment at Mount Ever-Rest Cemetery, Kalamazoo, MI. Memorial contributions (tribute) in memory of Sandra L. Matyas to: Cottey College, Attn: PEO Memorial; the Alzheimer’s Association; the Dementia Society of America; the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund; or the Lewy Body Dementia Foundation in care of the funeral home. Friends may leave a condolence message for the family at www.Joldersma-Klein.com.
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Sandra Lea Matyas, of Kalamazoo, Michigan (formerly Portage, MI; Haymarket, VA; Manassas, VA; Hyde Park, NY, Kingston, NY; Poughkeepsie, NY) died October 19, 2023. Mrs. Matyas was born September 24, 1940, in Letart, WV, daughter of George R. Canter and Frances L. (Keller) Aldridge.
Sandra was raised by her grandmother, Nora Canter, who, with the help of family members, was able to give Sandra a home, a school and church that taught her a set of moral values that would last a lifetime.
Sandra moved to Kalamazoo, in 1957. She graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School in 1958, and went to work at Borgess Hospital, Kalamazoo, MI, where she worked as a Dietary Food Service Supervisor. She was later employed by Santa Rosa Hospital, Milton, FL, as the Dietary Food Service Manager. In 1985, she earned a Registered Nursing degree from UCCC, Hurley, NY, whereupon she worked as an RN at Kingston Hospital, Kingston, NY, while also raising her family.
Sandra was active in different women’s organizations. She was a lifelong member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO), joining the organization in 1978 in Poughkeepsie, NY. She was also a member of the Regency Women’s Club, joining the organization in 2006, and serving on its board in 2010-12. She loved fishing and spent summers with family outside Three Rivers, MI, at Fishers Lake. She was also an avid gardener, homemaker and devoted to her family. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, reading and travel. She and her husband visited 14 different countries, including Brazil and Japan.
On November 9, 1962, in Pensacola, FL, she married Stephen Michael Matyas Jr., who preceded her in death on May 24, 2023. Surviving are an adopted daughter, Ophelia Ham (a.k.a. Sally Matyas), Brooklyn, NY, a son Stephen M. Matyas, III (Julie), grandsons John Stephen (Jack) Matyas, and Benjamin Michael (Ben) Matyas, and a granddaughter Katherine Elizabeth (Kate) Matyas, all of Herndon, VA, a sister Victoria L. Clapp (David), of Schoolcraft, MI, five nieces, Karen Clapp, Karna Meyer, Melissa Bloomquist, Betsie Chimney, Mary Aldridge, three nephews Todd DeVries, Brad DeVries, Steven Aldridge and several cousins. Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her mother Frances L. Aldridge, Hawthorne, CA, in 1980, her father George R. Canter, Kalamazoo, in 1985, a half-brother Steve Aldridge, Kalamazoo, and her younger sister Nora J. Canter, Kalamazoo in 2020.
She and her husband Stephen were long time members of the First Baptist Church, Poughkeepsie, NY.
