I just found out about Mike.  We  were so sorry to hear about your loss.  Even though we haven't seen him much lately we would occasionally see him in stores with Marjorie and he looked so good. I can't believe he was 96 we thought he was in his early 80's.  We remember Mike was a gentleman and had a beautiful smile. If there is anything we can do for you please let us know.  Again we are so sorry for your loss.

Dearest Pappap, where do I begin?? We have been so blessed to have you on this earth for 96(and a half!) years! I will forever cherish all of the memories I have with you and Grandma during the holidays and on our summer getaways to Florida, and especially the precious time we got to spend with you just recently! 
You've passed on so many traditions and Pappap-isms to us all, which will live on in our families, and in the generations to come! I remember the ringing of santa's sleigh bells as he left your house on Christmas morning, the endless nutrolls, singing the day away on the porch swing, long HOT days at Jensen Beach in the middle of summer with all of us grandchildren, and who could forget Mr Smiley that snuck his way on to every letter and card you sent us. I will only eat my peaches cold and cut them with a knife because that's what you always did at the beach! 
I am your only granddaughter and you always said that my voice reminded you of a glass of sparking champagne, so happy and bubbly! You wanted so badly to be at my upcoming wedding but were afraid that you wouldn't be able to. I am at peace knowing that you will be there with us all, and you will now have one of the best seats in the house smiling down at us from heaven! I will think of you fondly during our champagne toast, and always! 
Thank you for being the greatest Pappap to us grandchildren, and role model to our entire family. We love you so much!

We will always remember Mike as a loving and caring father and grandfather.  He always had a smile on his face and he always treated us like family.  He was a very special person.

Mike was so proud of his children and grandchildren.  You are truly blessed to have had your father as a role model for so many years.  I can remember Mike singing to Tracy and Justin on the swing in the back yard in North Versailles.  Your father and mother were such loving grandparents and it was always enjoyable to be around them.

Sincerely,

Pat and Bucky Cheripka

We are all so very sad to lose Uncle/Brother-in-law Mike, but happy to know he will be meeting our Mom and wife, Anna in Heaven. They will be able to re-unite with all of their wonderful family. Love you for all you were to us !

My Uncle Mike - so many memories... he used to hide our Easter baskets when we were little, he took me on my first vacation to the beach, but most of all he ALWAYS carried on the traditions and recipes (!) of our heritage... Be happy Uncle Mike with all your family in heaven.

Uncle Mike lived miles away but in my heart he was always near.  When we talked on the phone we always talked about the years gone by and the images were so fresh in my mind.  These images are precious to me and I will never forget them or my dear "Uncle Mike".

Rita Stark (Greenwood, SC)

Dad,

You are the best father and friend any child could dream of always putting family first.  You are a gift from God.  Thank you for being our inspiration and guiding light but don't stop now we need more than ever.  We will forever treasure precious memories, your sayings and the things that made you unique (in no special order), such as:  
•We're such a tight-knit family
•Taking us on vacation even when it was only Keystone (but that was a big deal)
•Cutting strawberries, mixing them with sugar and making your special topping
•Making nut rolls, paska, pagach, halusky, balbulki and pigs feet in what we later found to be solid fat
•Your strong religious belief in God and His love
•Being a constant viewer of EWTN even knowing each person by name
•Praying on the end of your bed every night
•Not missing a day of work in 31 years at General Motors
•While on your swing, watching and talking to stumpy the squirrel (without a tail) walk across the power lines
•Sitting in your rocking chair (that you didn't want Mom to buy) at the top of the driveway counting the ducks and white pelicans in your lake
•Guzzling the infrequent bottle of beer in two or three sips
•Riding your bicycle for 3 miles every day even when you were in your early 90's
•Putzing around in your shed even when Mom was calling you for dinner
•Your glowing smile
•Primping those two waves of hair at the front of your head
•Eating sausage gravy over biscuits for breakfast (until you found out it wasn't healthy)
•Being proud of your cars, keeping them in pristine condition but placing old rugs over the new carpets
•Always bragging about your grandchildren 
•Being the inspiration to Ron when in my early teens pushing me to succeed by telling me if I don't shape up I'll be digging ditches for the rest of my life
•Encouraging Marge to always put her best foot forward and don't worry about what others think
•Talking with Mom in Slovak when you didn't want us to know what you were saying
•Singing Slovak tales/songs to us:  Oh lush shek, bo bush shek uten study kukuliku, Ya polobek skupushan Hey Nutso Mia.Jeden, Dva, Tri,   and so many more 
•Drawing Mr. Smiley on all of the cards mailed us
•Resisting going out with people or group functions but once you got there we couldn't peel you away from your deep conversations
•You melted every time women told you that you have a beautiful complexion you can't be in your 90's
•Always finding a way to build or repair everything.  Most were ingenious but every once in a while the fix was crude but it worked
•You were sharp as a tack.  You could figure out complex problems in your head when we struggled with calculators and computers
•Stopping at McDonalds for an ice cream cone
•Sneaking that special sweet after every dinner

Dobru' Nocs A Spat Bohjeskum !
You always made us proud to call you DAD

Where to begin...
Pappap was an outstanding person but more importantly a standout grandfather to my sister, cousins and myself. From an early age, I was fortunate to spend a lot of quality time with my grandparents in person during holidays, summer vacations and on our weekly Sunday calls where we touched on current events and would like to think we solved all the worlds problems. He taught us all what it meant to be a role model, hard worker and the importance of family, which has carried through to who I am today. Thank you for everything pappap, you will be in my thoughts each and every day. 

I can here it now.... "KATHERINE"

I will miss you pappap!

I will miss you Dad.  So glad we got to see you last week one last time until we meet again in Heaven.  You have been such an inspiration to everyone you came in contact with, making this world a better place.  Ron and I couldn't have asked for a more awesome grandfather to our kids than you were.  You taught them so much about life and how important God and family are.  That is something they will carry on and remember forever and I thank you for that. Love you.

Words cannot explain the sadness we are feeling right now since we just didn't lose our Pappy but we lost our best friend as well. We've been so fourtuante to see our our Pappy everyday for the last 19 years. He was such an amazing person to not only us but our whole family and anybody who had met him. He taught us so much about life and he always pushed us to be the best men we could possibly be. He could always make us and anyone else laugh since he had an amazing sense of humor. The love he gave to us was indescribable and we cannot thank him enough for every single thing he's done for us over all of these years. We love you so much pappy  and we will miss you every single day!

I have so many fond memories of Uncle Mike. One of my favorites is going to visit on Christmas and he would place a huge dish of cookies he baked and we could have all we wanted. There was no end to the variety of cookies he made. I'll miss you Uncle Mile.

OBITUARY

Michael Matviya

September 26, 1919 – February 24, 2016

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