Barbara "Oma" Matijevic

Barbara "Oma" Matijevic, 84, of Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas passed away May 15, 2024. She was born May 20, 1939, in Mrzovic, Yugoslavia, to Wendelin and Veronika Heckele.
Barbara immigrated to America as a young teenager. After arriving in New York, she moved to Chicago, Illinois where, through the help of her sister, Mary and his brother George, she met Steve Matijevic. Steve and Barbara were married on November 10, 1956. They had 3 children, Charles, Marina and Thomas.
In Chicago, she primarily worked as a housekeeper for the Rectory of St. Clement Catholic Church. Barbara volunteered many hours at a soup kitchen or an overnight homeless shelter in Chicago for which she was recognized and awarded the Chicago Volunteer of the Year Award.
Barbara moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas in 2015. Throughout her life, Barbara was very devoted to her faith; going to church daily and spending many precious hours in prayer in the Adoration Chapel at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
Barbara loved her family. Some of the most cherished memories include extreme baking - especially Christmas cookies during the holidays, camping out on the living room floor or in the red barn (in Wisconsin) with her children and grandchildren. Anyone that knew her well, knew that she loved playing board games like Mensch ärgere Dich nicht (German version of Sorry) and Yahtzee. We will never forget the shrill sound of her voice when she rolled a Yahtzee!
Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 57 years, Steve Matijevic; sisters, Veronica Paul, Anna Riffert, Regina Zajaceskowski; brothers, Adam and Wendell Heckele.
Survivors include her sister, Mary Matijevic; her children, Charles (Janet) Matijevic, Marina (Robert) Mueller, Thomas (Colleen) Matijevic; grandchildren, John (Christine) Matijevic, Michelle (John) Jordan, Melanie (Jordan) Bassel, Nicholas (Mikayla) Mueller, Sara (Josh) Winningham, and Xander Matijevic; 12 great grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Monday, May 20th at Caruth-Hale Funeral Home with rosary at 6:30PM.
A mass in celebration of Barbara's life will be held at 10:00am on Tuesday, May 21st at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church of Hot Springs with Father George Sanders officiating.
Barbara's family wishes to extend a special thank you to her St. John's family including Deacon Robert Wanless & his wife Mary, her bible study group, those who assisted with transportation and especially Diane Genseke who prayed with her every day.
In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift donation may be made to St. Jude's Children Hospital in her honor at www.stjude.org