Dr. Vernon Charles Matzen

1943 - 2023

Dr. Vernon Charles Matzen

December 7, 2023

Raleigh, North Carolina - Vernon Charles Matzen of Raleigh, NC passed away on December 7, 2023 in Alexandria, VA. He is survived by Connie, his wife of 57 years; children Sarick (Natalie Taber, Minneapolis, MN) and Qilo (Oakland, CA); sister Arleen Pickett (Los Gatos, CA) and her children; and a large extended family.

Vernon was born in Petaluma, CA to Bernard and Ila Grace Matzen in 1943. He was proud that his education began in a two room country schoolhouse, Browns Valley School, in Napa, CA, which he attended with his sister. He graduated from Napa Junior College and attended the University of Colorado, Boulder, earning his BSCE in 1966. He also attended Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (MSCE). He discovered his love of research while working at General Dynamics, Electric Boat Division (Groton, CT, 1967-70). After receiving his PhD from University of California, Berkeley in 1976, he joined the faculty in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC, 1977-2014). At NC State he spent 13 years as Director of the Center for Nuclear Power Plant Structures, Equipment and Piping and seven years as Assistant Department Head, Director of Graduate Programs. He was deeply involved in the International Association of Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology (IASMiRT), an organization dedicated to safety in nuclear power reactors.

Vernon loved teaching; his eyes shone when talking about mathematical problem solving. When Sarick and Qilo were little, he would stop at bridges and prompt them to puzzle out the structural forces that held them up, and in later years he enjoyed running into former students across the country including in Yosemite National Park and Canyon de Chelly in Arizona.

After retiring from NC State in 2014, he took up jazz drumming, fulfilling his lifelong dream born of his love of jazz. He built houses with Habitat for Humanity and volunteered for the Raleigh Greenway as a bicycle ambassador. He also expanded his service at the First Church of Christ, Scientist, where he was a dedicated member. He and Connie bought a travel trailer and traveled to western National Parks with friends and family. At home, he loved working in his wood shop, building impeccable arts and crafts style furniture.

Before he passed, Vernon reflected that 2023 was a wonderful, full year. He canoe-camped with Connie in North Carolina, backpacked in Yosemite with Qilo, explored the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes area with the whole family, completed an epic Fall canoe trip with Connie on the Allagash River in Maine, and built, delivered and installed beautiful handmade wooden accent pieces for Natalie and Sarick's new house in Minneapolis.

He spent his life devoted to service to his department, IASMiRT, his church, and his community. He voraciously read all his life, including Tolkien's Lord of the Rings out loud with his family many times over. He loved elegant math equations, data and spreadsheets (especially of nightly family board and card game scores), the Sierra Nevada mountains, North Carolina spring and fall, wilderness, and his family.

A celebration of life will be held in Spring 2024.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to First Church of Christ, Scientist (Raleigh, NC) (Attn Clerk) or Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, NC (specify Interfaith Build Projects).