James Douglas Matz was born January 1, 1930 and passed away March 31, 2014 at the age of 84 years. He passed away peacefully from this life into the presence of his Lord and Savior surrounded by family. He is survived by his wife Janyce Rae Matz (known as Jan to her friends and family) and their three children, Lori Snider, Linda Carlone and Robert Matz as well as his children's spouses whom he loved as much, Phillip Snider, Jeffrey Carlone and Diana Matz. Jim, as he was known, was blessed with six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Jim is also survived by his older brother, John and a younger brother, Paul. Their sister Mary Prothero passed away less than a year ago.

Jim was born in Los Angeles, California and was proud to be a native Los Angeline. He was the second son of Adolph and Anna Matz. Since he was born shortly after the start of the Great Depression and his mother passed away only eight months after his birth, his grandmother and aunt helped raise him until he was five years old. He and his brother John were then placed into an orphanage for five years until their father remarried. Although he got into trouble several times for sneaking off to find his older brother, Jim had wonderful memories of living in the orphanage in Hollywood, where celebrities would spend time with the children and take them on outings.

After trying several times over a two year period to get Jan to go on a date with him, Jim and Jan had their first date on March 13, 1953. He waited only two weeks before he proposed the first time and she finally said yes a month later. They were married on July 31, 1953 and settled in South Gate, California. They moved their family to Mission Viejo, California in 1968. Jan teasingly promised Jim that as long as he kept her laughing she would keep him; he never failed. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last year.

He graduated from South Gate High School and attended some college for industrial engineering. Jim spent several years selling Real Estate in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. He also enjoyed a career in the aerospace industry starting in a precision grinding department and progressing to shop supervisor, then to industrial engineering. He started at Parker Hannifin in 1975, and he retired from their purchasing department after being with them for 20 years.

Jim and Jan loved to vacation and travel; they brought their children up to enjoy these same experiences. After his retirement, Jim and Jan traveled to most of the states and into Canada in their fifth wheel which they called their second home. As they continued to mature they began cruising and traveling abroad. Their favorite trips include the western Caribbean, the Baltic Sea, Alaska, the Mediterranean (Italy), Hawaii and Australia.

Through the years Jim especially enjoyed camping, fishing and hunting with friends and family. He also loved to play cards; his most recent favorite being a board game called "Marbles". His activities included being active in church and Bible Study Fellowship, Toastmasters, and being a leader for Young Achievers. In their home, he pleased his wife with remodeling their kitchens, building patio covers and pretty much completing all of her "honey do" lists. Jim was always a teacher at heart and loved to tell stories of life experiences and sharing God's Word with others. Many people have shared how much one of his stories or a Bible verse has made a life changing impression on them.

A private burial service will be held at El Toro Memorial Park on April 4th. Please join us for a celebration of Jim's life at Christ Community Church in Laguna Hills, California on April 12th at 3:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served following the service.

Jim's life reflected his faith in God and God's promises. If so moved, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Samaritan's Purse, one of Jim's favorite charities.