Patricia Ann Matonak

Patricia Ann Matonak (nee Bray) passed away on May 23, 2022, after an adventurous life that took her far from her Camden, New Jersey birthplace. She was a loving wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend. As a young girl she showed an aptitude for numbers and was tasked with keeping track of the family’s ration coupon books during World War II.

She graduated from Georgian Court College, New Jersey with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and then signed up in 1952 for a tour working as a civilian for the Army in Japan during the Korean conflict. There she climbed Mount Fuji twice, dated more than a few servicemen, and became a secular Franciscan.  Returning to New Jersey, she met her best friend and future husband, Lawrence A. Matonak.  They moved with the fledgling aerospace industry to the San Fernando Valley in Northern Los Angeles, California, in 1959 and proceeded to raise eight children.

She was very strong in her Catholic faith and was faithful in her attendance of daily mass until her health no longer permitted it. She was an active member of the Secular Franciscan Order for over 60 years, acting as formation minister for the St. Mary of the Angels chapter in California before moving to San Antonio. Patricia was also an active member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Right to Life League and, among her other activities, gave presentations at high schools throughout the 1970s. When several members of the Right to Life League started a local maternity home to support pregnant women in crisis, Angels Way Maternity Home, Patricia became a generous supporter both financially and through her volunteer activities.

An avid traveler, Patricia found time to visit over thirteen countries including England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, France, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Panama. Her daughter Ann Marie Matonak joked that Patricia also visited her everywhere the Air Force stationed her except Bosnia-Herzegovina and Saudi Arabia and that was only because those countries did not allow tourists at the time.

Patricia was also highly active in her local Kappa Gamma Pi chapter, acting as treasurer for many years. She loved to read and passed on this love to her children and to other children through her participation in the Junior Great Books program. She was active in her local church, acting as a lector before her health would no longer permit this activity. In 2018, she embraced a move with four of her children to San Antonio, Texas where she fully enjoyed retirement. Despite the infirmities consistent with the years, she retained her desire to be independent and was much loved by her caregivers and health providers. No shrinking violet, her favorite TV programs were Bones and NCIS.

Patricia Ann Matonak was proceeded in death by her husband Lawrence A. Matonak, her parents Mary M. Bray and Albert F. J. (Fred) Bray, her sisters Damaris Sayce and Mary Ellen Bray, and her brother Alfred J. (John) Bray.

She is survived by her children: Mary King (Jimmy), Nicholas Matonak, Ann Marie Matonak, Daniel Matonak, Timothy Matonak, Andrew Matonak, Theresa Matonak, and Anthony Matonak, and eight nieces and nephews: Steve Sayce, Donna S. Troy (Gino), John Sayce (Clare), Kurt Sayce (Vickie), Karl Sayce (Cindy), Debbie Elliott (John), Geoffrey Bray, and Philip Bray.

FUNERAL SERVICES

Monday, June 6, 2022

The Funeral Mass will be offered at

St. Matthew Catholic Church in San Antonio, TX at 10:00am.

Interment will be at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, in San Fernando, California,

where she joins her husband, Lawrence.

MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

In lieu of flowers, her family request donations in her name to Angels Way Maternity Home

(www.angelswayhome.org)