John Matysik

John Matysik Jr., age 82, of Wayne passed on Friday, April 18, 2025 after an illness.

John was born on May 31, 1942, the oldest of John and Genevieve Matysik's three children. John grew up in Clifton, NJ and graduated from Clifton High School. John was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged in March of 1966.

John was quiet and humble and had the strongest work ethic of anyone you could ever meet.  John worked as a tool and die maker in various machine shops for most of his life.  His daughter recalls many years of her childhood where her father would work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, standing in a hot machine shop.  Despite those conditions, he rarely missed a day of work.  Yearly summer vacations took place in Seaside Heights, NJ.  The family also took trips to Washington, DC and Disney World. After his son-in-law Anthony passed away in 2009, John immediately went back into "dad mode" and made sure Heather, Krystian and AJ always had the help they needed. John and Eleanor even moved in with Heather and the kids for the first year after Anthony's passing.

John could fix just about anything and was always the first call Heather made when something broke at the house (which was often).  John took great pride in his lawn, which was often described as a "mattress".  John also spent nearly 16 years taking care of the lawn at Heather's house and taking care of the pool.  Every Sunday morning John would go grocery shopping and bring bagels to Heather and the kids and ham for his grand-dog, JJ.  John took up skiing when Heather was younger because she wanted to ski like her friends. After a few years, Heather decided she didn't like being cold and quit but John continued to ski for many years, into his 70's.  In recent years John began going to Reloaderz where he enjoyed his new hobby of target shooting.  The employees got to know him very well and even got him a cake and sang happy birthday to him a few years ago.

John was introduced to the love of his life, Eleanor, by a friend.  The two dated shortly before John was drafted into the Army.  They wrote letters to each other while he was away and when he returned from the Army he proposed.  John and Eleanor were married on September 22, 1968 at Sacred Heart RC Church in Bloomfield.  After their honeymoon in Niagara Falls, John and Eleanor settled in Belleville.  John and Eleanor welcomed their daughter, Heather, on October 7, 1976 and a few months later moved to Wayne, where John continued to reside in the same home until his passing.  John and Eleanor enjoyed nearly 45 years of a devoted marriage until Eleanor's passing in 2013.  John's greatest pride and joy were his grandchildren, Krystian and AJ.  He would tell everyone he met, from the cashier at Stop and Shop to the hospital and rehab staff, all about them.  He attended every school event that he could and enjoyed taking them for ice cream and to Dave and Busters.

John was predeceased by his wife Eleanor in 2013, his sister Elizabeth in 2024 and his son-in-law Anthony in 2009.  He will be deeply missed by his daughter Heather, grandchildren Krystian and AJ Lanza, brother Ralph and his wife Phyllis, nieces and nephews PJ (Kim), Maryanne, Ron (Kim) and Doug (Erin), the Lanza family and many other extended family members, friends and neighbors.