Gary C. Matzner

1948 - 2024

Gary C. Matzner

July 20, 2024

Pinecrest, Florida - Gary Matzner, former Mayor and "Founding Father" of Pinecrest, passed away at home on July 20th, 2024, surrounded by his family and loved ones after a brief bout with cancer. He was a dedicated father to Ryan, Alex, Eric, and Ethan, a beloved husband to Veronica, and an esteemed attorney in healthcare law. Gary also served as President of Temple Judea for two years. He was cherished by many.

Gary was born on October 2nd, 1948 in Stamford, Connecticut. He was a natural community-builder and problem-solver. Compelled to improve the world around him, he has always cared for his community in both small and sweeping ways. Whether it was the time while studying law at Temple University, when the Library caught fire and Gary helped save books from burning, or later in his adult life, when he would co-found the city of Pinecrest, he would always spring to action when the time arose.

In 1972, Gary transferred to the University of Miami to finish law school. It was in Miami in the 1980s, that he met the love of his life, Veronica. They had a long and happy marriage of 41 years and raised their four children in an area of Miami that through Gary's efforts, would later transform from unincorporated Miami-Dade County into the flourishing Village of Pinecrest.

In the mid-1990s, as crime in Miami increased, many residents of the area began paying off-duty police officers to sit on the end of their streets to protect their neighborhoods. The lack of services provided to the community from its own tax dollars frustrated Gary, catalyzing him to action, especially when complaining to his wife, she replied: "If you don't want to pay for it, then do something about it."

And that's the kind of man Gary was. Where others might have paid privately for the private police service and moved on, he chose to do something about it that would benefit others as well. Partnering with his next-door neighbor, Evelyn Greer, they formed a grassroots movement to start a city. Growing out of the Matzner Family living room, the pair galvanized support and built coalitions that started filling Elementary, then Middle School, and eventually, High School auditoriums with citizens rallying behind their ideas, which at the time faced some significant opposition. With Gary as the dealmaker, negotiating with the county, and writing the charter of the city, an official ballot referendum was held, with the area voting overwhelmingly to incorporate as the Village of Pinecrest. For this work and more, Gary Matzner has been recognized as the "Founding Father of Pinecrest."

His work on Pinecrest didn't end there. While Evelyn went on to be the first Mayor, Gary lead a mission to "Save the Jungle" by helping to secure millions of dollars needed to protect the historic Parrot Jungle property, sparing it from being torn down and turned into a housing development. Pinecrest Gardens, as it's known today, continues to host special events such as weddings, including the recent marriage of Gary's son Ryan to Kate McKenzie. It also features a community center with a library, gym, and sports field, where the community can gather for generations to come.

Gary's next act for Pinecrest was to become an intentional one-term Mayor, not caring about maintaining power, just wanting to efficiently improve his community by fixing issues that bothered him. His first act as Mayor was to remove the $5 entry fee that had been imposed on Pinecrest Gardens. It was his sincere belief that all citizens should be able to reap the benefits of their community, without barriers. Shortly before his passing, and as his last public appearance, Gary attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a park in his honor: Gary C. Matzner Park, a multiple-acre site on the southeast corner of North Kendall Drive and 67th Avenue (6610 N Kendall Dr, Pinecrest, FL 33156). When the park opens to the public in 2025, you can be sure that there will be no entrance fee.

As devoted as Gary was to the community, he was equally as loving and devoted to his family, rushing directly from the office to attend his children's sports games, still in a suit and tie. He would stay the entire game, even if his kid sat on the bench for most of it. He was always there for them, instilling his way of life in his children, teaching them to work to align the world with their vision, rather than change themselves to fit into the world. Every Saturday for the last years of his life, Gary could be found on the golf course with close friends and his youngest son Ethan, followed by his customary meal of Dim Sum at Tropical Chinese. On a perfect day, he would even get to catch the latest blockbuster movie in the evening or attend a championship sporting event from the many South Florida teams of which he was a founding season ticket holder.

Beyond being instrumental in shaping the face of Miami by also helping other cities incorporate, he helped transform transactional healthcare law, for which he was known in the legal community as the "Dean of Healthcare Law." Gary worked alongside some of his close friends at their firms, in national firms, and spent the last 12 years of his productive legal career at KO Lawyers.

Gary's final Mitzvah to his community was to serve as the President of Temple Judea from 2018-2020, where he helped modernize the internals of the temple and worked to ensure the continued vitality of the congregation well into the future. However, his work there was not complete, so if you would like to help him continue to improve his community posthumously, we invite you to make a donation to the Temple in his name by reaching out to info@judeagables.org or calling 305-667-5657.

To celebrate Gary, on Tuesday, July 23nd, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. at Temple Judea (5500 Granada Blvd.), his family will be hosting a public ceremony in the Synagogue, immediately followed by a Shiva, where we'll share food, drinks, and stories about our beloved Gary.