Matthew Muhoberac

Matthew Muhoberac, 1924-2005

Siona LaFrance
Staff writer

At times, Matthew Muhoberac could be stern when his three children were growing up, but he also did a lot of things to give them a solid, almost idyllic upbringing.

He worked hard, but made time in his off hours to play catch with his two sons or take them on weekend hunting and fishing trips to Point a la Hache. At vacation time, the family would pile into the car and head out west to destinations such as the Grand Canyon or the Petrified Forest.

"At home, the thing I remember most is just him being there," said his daughter, Ann Heier. "He'd always come home around 4:30 or 5 p.m. and my mom always had dinner on the table. Red beans and rice was always one of his favorites."

Muhoberac, who was tall, lean and even-tempered, spent his working life as a millwright, a craftsman whose job it was to align, test and adjust machinery and equipment. He worked for a time at the Michoud Assembly Facility, where he was involved in work on the third stage of the Saturn V, the huge and powerful rocket that propelled man to the moon.

"He was most proud that he was able to be a part of that," said his son Matt Muhoberac of Westerville, Ohio. "I can remember we all sat up and watched when they landed on the moon."

An only child, Muhoberac grew up in a house on St. Andrew Street in New Orleans, then served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, mostly in the Persian Gulf. After their marriage, he and his wife moved to Chalmette in the early 1960s to raise two sons and a daughter. The children were grown when their parents divorced.

In his retirement years, Muhoberac preferred staying close to home. He enjoyed tending his yard and watching sports on television, especially Saints and LSU games. He took a lot of pride in his six grandchildren and also valued his close friends. A group of them got together often for breakfast.

Even so, his son Steve Muhoberac of Kenner sensed a certain loneliness in his father's later years. "When I called, he'd always talk and talk and talk," he said. "And when we went over, he'd want us to stay as long as possible."

His children talked to him about evacuating before Hurricane Katrina, but Muhoberac, who had witnessed hurricanes Betsy and Camille, thought he would be OK. He perished at his flooded home.

"He did things his own way," Steve said, "right up until the end."

Published in The Times-Picayune