Isaac Matza

1934 - 2020

Ike Matza 1934 - 2020 Isaac (Ike) Matza, 85, passed away early on the morning of December 2, 2020, at Ahava Memory Care in Pittsburgh, PA. Born in the Bronx, NY, Ike was the son of Leon and Lena Matza, both Greek nationals who came through Ellis Island. After losing both of his parents at a young age, Ike, his older brother, Hymen, and older sister, Lilian, grew up in the Jewish Family Services foster system, living with six different families in lean times. In high-school Ike discovered his talent as a track-and-field and cross-country runner, and earned a scholarship to New York University. He was an All-American in the steeplechase and also competed in the finals of the Olympic trials in 1956 and 1960. After graduating with a degree in marketing, he traveled the country and the world as a member of the U.S. Army track team. In the mid-1960s Ike began working in the travel industry in New York City. He met his future wife, Eila Aaltonen, in 1969 and the two were married in Eila’s hometown of Turku, Finland, in 1970. In 1975, after Albert Boscov hired Ike to be CEO of Boscov’s Travelcenter, the family made their way to Reading, PA. During Ike’s career he expanded the Travelcenter from two to over 30 branches and served on many travel industry advisory boards. Ike and Eila raised their two boys (Tomas and Stefan), four dogs and two cats in Reading. He retired in 2006. Through his many years, Ike never stopped running. He remained an avid reader of the newspaper and was committed to progressive causes. He was diagnosed with Lewy-Body dementia in 2017. Although he slowly lost his ability to do many of the things he loved, he remained a positive force in his family’s life. Kind to all, dedicated to his loved ones, and always ready with a laugh, Ike will be missed. His wife, sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, dear friends and the many others he touched celebrate his life and will miss him. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that during these trying times donations be made in Ike Matza’s name to Helping Harvest food bank (https://helpingharvest.org/donate/).