Dr. Joseph Matala
Dear Fellow Kantyites,
On 12/31/2011 A true Kantyite passed away.His name is Dr. Joseph Matala who graduated from Kanty in 1948. He was from the Black Rock Area of Buffalo ,N.Y. and attended Assumption School where he was a star athlete and an honor student. His parents were Joseph and Mary who were very prominent professionals. His father attended Kanty and was a lawyer in the community.
He and fellow classmates,Dr.Joseph Kij and Judge Mike Zimmer became the backbone of the Buffalo contribution to Kanty.
I was a young paperboy who delivered to Mike and Lou Kubala (also a Kantyite ) the Dziennik Dla Wszystkiech (a Polish Newspaper) and every day they told me of their boy Jojo as he was called. He was a football, basketball, and baseball star at Kanty and his uncle Lou Kubala, who owned Kubala furniture always told me what Jojo was doing at Kanty.
Kanty was a boarding school at the time St. Francis was in the Buffalo area.
In 1949 when I graduated from Assumption, Fr. Adam Minkel showed up at the school and because of the influence of Jojo, many of my classmates chose to go to Kanty.
We are sorry that Jojo passed away and we will forever remember that it was he that gave us some of the best years of our lives. His influence will always stay in my heart as in many of my classmates. Jojo was a fighter and he fought until the last day of 2011. Now he will play and fight in the new year for another team and I am sure he will be the captain as he always was at Kanty.
Team God against Team Devil.
I spontaneously wrote this and it would take several days to honor and thank Jojo for the influence he was on my life. His wife Elaine and his children gave Jojo the best care he could possibly have since they all are in the Medical field.
His wife attended the reunion in Cleveland and I could not get enough info about Jojo except that he wished Kanty the best as always
Jojo you will be missed by us all especially me.
Bog Zaplac
Sincerely,
Archie and fellow Kantyites
