Cdr George R. Matais, Usn (Ret)

Commander George Richard Matais, 90, passed away peacefully on June 21, 2022 at his home in Tucson, AZ with his family by his side. George was born August 22, 1931 in Johnstown, PA to George and Frances (Durdek) Mataisz, who even though they were both from Slovakia, part of the Kingdom of Hungary in the early 1900s, had immigrated as young adults separately, met and married in the United States. George was preceded in death by his sisters and brothers Mary Murphy (Joseph), Anna Howie (William), Linda Malicki (John), John Matais (Nancy) and Joseph Matais (Nancy).

George spent his formative years in Johnstown, PA but attended High School at Fork Union Military Academy, Virginia where his Purple Heart awarded WWI Veteran father thought it would be easier for him to receive an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. George did receive that appointment to West Point, but those plans were put aside when one day his older sister Anna landed a single engine plane near the Fork Union Campus and started a love for Aviation. George accepted an appointment and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1953, where he was stellar in both academics and sports including the offshore sailing and lightweight football teams.

George received his coveted “Wings of Gold” in December 1954 which led to many assignments within the Navy’s West Coast TACAIR community flying A-1 Skyraider with ATKRON 55, ATKRON 65, ATKRON 96, ATKRON 196 and A-7 Corsair II with ATKRON 93. These squadrons placed him on various aircraft carriers for deployment to the Gulf of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. Additional sea duty assignments included the USS Constellation (CV-64) and the USS Midway (CV-41). His shore assignments took him and his family across the United States and around the world. These assignments included Assistant Professor of Naval Science, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH; United States Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA; Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility, Albuquerque, NM; Naval Air Station Lemoore, CA and Fleet Air Western Pacific, Atsugi, Japan.

George’s final PCS move brought him to Tucson, AZ following his retirement from Naval Service in 1981. George and Jerry continued their world-wide travels with trips across Asia, Australia and Europe. During one of these trips, they met, for the first-time, relatives who lived in Eastern Europe in an area that had been behind the Iron Curtain prior to 1991 and were able to explore where his parents called home prior to their immigration.

In Tucson, George became an active member of the Most Holy Trinity Parish and continued his love for aviation by spending over thirty-five years sharing his knowledge as a multi-role docent at the Pima Air and Space Museum. His final volunteer work was as part of the Hangar 4 crew with whom he was able to reminisce about the “good ole days of flying” with like-minded souls. Throughout his retirement he maintained close ties to his beloved Naval Academy through the USNA Alumni Association.

A particularly fond memory of George is that in a day and age where computers did not exist, people would often say “Hey George” vs “Hey Google” for the answer to a question. He would often place his audience in awe recounting verbatim long ago memorized epic poems or fun ditties.

George is survived by his bride of 66 years Jeralyne Matais (Hanson); his five children Kristina Morgan (Raymond) of Tucson, AZ; Captain George M. Matais, USN (Ret) (Beverly) of Chesapeake, VA; Franceska Baker (Scott) of Tucson, AZ; Mark Matais (Laurel) of Benton AR and Michelle Marloe (Drew) of San Clemente, CA, as well as 16 grandchildren, three who are part of the Naval Service, three great-grandchildren and brother in law Marvin Hanson (Lois) of Petaluma, CA.

A Funeral Mass will be held Thursday, August 11th, 2022, 9:00 a.m., at Most Holy Trinity Parish, 1300 N. Greasewood Rd, Tucson, AZ with an Interment to follow at 11:00 a.m., at Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 15950 N. Luckett Rd, Marana, AZ.