Matthew Stanley "Matt" Petrus

Matthew Stanley Petrus Matthew "Matt" Stanley Petrus, 84, died Friday, Feb. 25, 2005, at Heritage Convalescent Center. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Lillian. The service will be at 2:30 p.m. EST today at the chapel of Bevis Funeral Home (850-358-2193), with burial at Tallahassee Memory Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Big Bend Hospice, 1723 Mahan Center Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32308. He was born in Krolik, Poland, to Wojcieck Petrus and Anelia Wroble Petrus on May 25, 1920. He came to America on May 11, 1928, through Ellis Island from the U.S.S. Roosevelt when he was 8 years old. His parents modified their names to Albert and Nellie and settled in Willimantic, Conn., where he was raised and later married his life love, Lillian Mae Johnsen on Nov. 1, 1941, in St. Joseph's Church. A proud Catholic and Democrat, Matthew was scouted by the Major League Baseball teams but chose a trade-school education. He served in the Merchant Marines in 1946 and worked as a Machine Operator and Production Engineer for Pratt and Whitney for 33 years, retiring in 1977. That year he moved to Tequesta. He had been a resident of Tallahassee since 1998. Other survivors include a brother, Benjamin Petrus of Juno; two children, Jane Sandstrom of Stuart and Wesley Chapel and Nance Asvestas of Tallahassee; three grandchildren, Alysa Nolen of Tampa, Debra S. Fleming of Merritt Island and Chad Asvestas of Charlotte, N.C.; and four great-grandchildren, Tyler, William, Matthew and Emily. The family wishes to extend sincere thanks to the nurses and entire staff of Heritage Healthcare Center for extending Matthew the finest care in his last years and especially his final days.