Sharon Lee Matteson

Sharon Lee Matteson

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Sharon Lee Matteson, of Pittsburgh, formerly of Cuba, N.Y., died peacefully Friday (Dec. 1, 2023).

Sharon was born Jan. 15, 1940, in Warsaw, N.Y. to Cecil Rodger Arzberger and Charles Arzberger, during a snow storm. Her family moved to Cuba to escape the polio epidemic, where they owned and operated the Cuba Baking Company. In August of 1961 she married Bruce Matteson.

After graduating salutatorian of the Cuba Central School, Class of '57, she received her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Buffalo State.

Sharon taught in her hometown for 33 years. She enjoyed her coworkers, students and monarch butterflies.

She loved her St. Bernards, Freya and Bruno; lhasa apsos, Genevieve and Bernie; and her silky terriers, Nellie and Arzie; and could often be seen walking one of them in the village until her later years.

She and Bruce had long term friendships with their graduating class. They shared Thanksgiving with the Allis' and Briggs' as a long standing tradition. She was a proud member of the Red Hat Society both in New York and South Carolina and enjoyed doing crafts.

She was a model chief's wife for the Cuba Fire Department, hosting and traveling to conventions in the Poconos.

The Mattesons were travel enthusiasts. They began with a pop-up trailer and expanded to a full motorhome for their travel in the United States. Surfside Beach was a yearly destination and became their winter home for many years. They traveled to Ireland three times and enjoyed a Caribbean cruise with their family and cruises to Alaska and the Panama Canal. Trips to the Belleek factory in Ireland added to her extensive collection of beautiful things.

Sharon loved feeding people. She always brought cookies and left them for mail carriers on her porch along with a cooler of water. She and her husband hosted lots of pool parties with her grands on East Main and attended all their school events and sports through college.

She is survived by her daughters, Marlene (Shawn) Doyle and Tammy (William) McElroy; her brother, Thomas (Debby) Arzberger; five grandchildren, Emily (Thomas Corey) Zutz, John (Hannah Erwin) Doyle, Bruce (Cadi) Doyle, Joshua (Marissa) Foster and Frank Foster; three great-grandchildren, Charles and Eliza Zutz and Henry Doyle; and nine nieces and nephews, John (Kelly) Arzberger, Charlie (Samantha) Arzberger and Avriel (Arzberger) McGee, Kathy (Beard) Hayes, David Keefe, Denise (Keefe) Callihan, Karla (Keefe) VanFleet, Trent (Lena) Matteson and Erin (Michael) Leet.

She was predeceased by daughters, Torrie and Helen; her husband Bruce in 2020; and her sister, Sandra (Robert) Beard.

Sharon was a lifetime member of the Cuba First Baptist Church and served as a religious ed teacher for many years. A funeral service will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 6, 2023) at the church, followed by a Celebration of Life at The Palmer. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Cuba Circulating Library, 39 E. Main St., Cuba, NY 14727.