Ann J. Matijasic, a former long-time resident of Santa Monica, died on Sunday, June 12, 2005, at a nursing home in Sacramento. Matijasic, 83, succumbed to congestive heart failure.
Ann was born in 1921 in Youngs-town, Ohio, where she met and married Mark Matijasic, who was a safety inspector at a munitions plant. In 1943, during World War II, the Matijasics moved to Long Beach, where Mark was assigned to a similar job.
They moved to Fresno in 1946 and while there, Ann gave birth to two sons, Mark and John. The family relocated to Mar Vista in 1955, then to Santa Monica in 1960. They remained in Santa Monica until 1974. Her sons attended Grant Elementary School, John Adams Middle School, Santa Monica High and Santa Monica College.
Mark and Ann moved to San Antonio, Texas, then when Mark passed away in 1994, Ann relocated to Napa to be near her sons. She has been in Sacramento since 2004.
"She was a Mom of the ‘50s and '60s,” said her son John, who lives in Sacramento. "She participated in the PTA and was involved with the other moms around town. That’s what moms did back then."
Ann was preceded in death by her husband Mark and her son Mark. She is survived by her son John.
According to John Matijasic, a private service is being planned in which Ann's and her husband Mark’s ashes will be scattered in Santa Monica Bay because they always considered Santa Monica to be their true home.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 17, 2005. Read the original PDF.