John William Frederick Matt
February 02, 1943 – October 26, 2019
With
great sadness and heavy hearts we announce John passed away at the age of 76
with family at his side. John had a very
brief battle with Bile Duct Cancer and suffered a stroke 3 days before his
passing.
John
is predeceased by his parents John and Lydia Matt, first wife Claudia Reich (Mackie),
sister Connie Matt (Borysko), son Jason Matt and grandson Jordan Apps.
He
is survived by his 3 children Sandy Matt (Rob), John Matt (Candee) and Karyn
Apps (Bruce). Grandchildren Kevin Lavoie
(Shannon), Michael Lavoie (Stacey), Derek Apps (Chrystal), Dustin Apps (Katie),
Samantha Matt (Corey), Cole Matt, Brooklyn Forgie-Matt, Step granddaughters
Melissa Tesolin (Cody) and Sarah McIvor (Mike).
Great grandchildren Kalica, Kacoda, Kevin, Hunter, Nakita, Jagger,
Tanner, Tylan and Jacyn. Step great grandchildren
Kalli, Ashlyn and Carter. Nieces Deborah
Spurgeon (Martyn) and Corrina Billings.
Great nieces Angela, April and Alley and Great nephew Adam.
John
was born to John and Lydia Matt in Lethbridge AB the oldest of two
children. He grew up in the Vancouver
area and moved to Strathmore AB in his late teens. This is where he met and married his wife
Claudia. John worked on the crushers in
his early years of marriage but he longed to work for himself and when the
opportunity arose he moved his wife and 2 young children Sandy and John to
Valemount BC and opened up Texaco gas/garage station. A few years later two more children arrived
Jason and Karyn and this completed the family.
Over the years of living in the beautiful valley of the mountains John hauled
logs for a period of time he then moved on and bought a couple of trucks and drove for Trimac.
John
and Claudia eventually divorced and John moved to Kamloops with John and Jason
in tow. He worked at Dearborn Ford as a salesman for a few years but still
itching to work for himself. It was then
when he decided to do what he loved to do, being a mechanic. He opened up
Jaymat Auto, specializing in Semi trucks but never turned down to fix smaller
cars and trucks. This business kept him
going for more than 30 years until he shut the doors. He then drove for Trican out of Alberta until
he retired well past 65.
John
had a passion for playing softball and coaching. His spring and summer would be full of
coaching and playing with his 2 sons John and Jason. They spent many seasons together on the ball
fields and lot of tournaments in and out of town. He was also a huge fan of the Blue Jays and
rarely ever missed a game.
At
one point John took an interest in horse racing and before you knew it he
bought his own race horse in the early 90’s.
The
biggest passion John had in later years besides his family was fishing. He rarely caught anything and with the amount
of time he spent on the water he should have, but he was never deterred and he
kept going out anytime he could. He was
very disappointed he wasn’t able to salmon fish this year due to his illness.
The
family would like to thank all the Doctors and Nurses on 7 North at RIH. A huge
Thank you to Dr. Kanji and Dr. Cornel Barnard for your compassion towards
Dad. We would also like to thank
everyone from Marjorie Willoughby Hospice for your kindness and compassion not
just for Dad but towards our large family who bombarded the hospice in Dad’s
final hours.
There
will be a private family celebration of life at a later date in the summer of
2020.
If
you desire to donate in Dad’s memory please donate to Marjorie Willoughby
Hospice.
Offer Condolence for the family of John William Frederick Matt 1943 – 2019
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of John William Frederick Matt 1943 –..
Death notice for the town of: Kamloops, Province: Colombie britanique