Tony Matalonis
Funny, Sweet, Kind, and Smart-Alecky
Tony Matalonis was my husband. He died instantly on November 13, 2014, from a heart attack. He was a donor through Mid-America Transplant and helped so many people, for which I am so glad.
Tony was a funny, sweet, kind, smart-alecky kind of guy, always thought he was right (which many men do), but sometimes it got him in a little bit of trouble. He was driving our little Nissan truck with our two kids in the cab with him. A policeman must have cut in front of him, and it aggravated him, so what does he do? He honks at him. Our kids were scared and begging him not to say anything. So, the cop circles back and turns on his siren and lights and pulls them over. When he came up to the car and asked Tony why he honked at him, Tony innocently said, no I wasn’t honking at you, officer. I was honking at someone I knew down the road. Sure thing, Tony!!! Our kids love to tell this story.
Another time, we were on vacation in New York, driving down the turnpike. He was speeding, and a cop started following us and pulled us over. He walked up, asked for his license, then asked if he knew he was going 70 mph in a 55 mph zone. Well, Tony proceeded to tell the officer he wasn’t speeding, the speed limit was just lowered in the last few miles, and he was coasting to get down to the lower speed. That went over really well as he proceeded to write him a ticket. The kids and I still laugh about that one, also.
He was the most energetic, fun-loving person I have ever met. He always believed in going for the ‘gusto’ in life and never put off something fun to do till the next day. I loved that about him. If you want to do something but worry whether it’s the right time, do it. You never know what might happen and how much time we have on this earth. I am so lucky to have had this man in my life for 34 years, and I try every day now to go for the ‘gusto’ like he did.
Louise Matalonis Baer
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