JAMES JOSEPH ‘JIMMY’ MATACIA was born September 14, 1918 in Charlottesville, VA, and died December 25, 1988 in San Antonio, TX. He married ELIZABETH ‘BETTY’ NOLEN February 14, 1953 in Casablanca, Morocco. She was born July 27, 1927 in Memphis, TN.
When one thinks of Jimmy Matacia, one event from his life is unforgettable, while at the same time it circumscribes the totality of his life experience: he married his wife Betty in Casablanca, Morroco! Jimmy was a warrant officer in the Army Air Corps during WW II, and eventually entered the OSI: Air Force Office of Special Investigations at war’s end. As Jimmy J. Matacia, he had returned home from WW II in Europe on the General A W Greely on September 26, 1945. Jimmy spent some time in India (or Burma) in the CBI Theater. The large collection of gongs and other Far Eastern paraphernalia once enshrined in his mother’s parlor in Charlottesville, attest to that.
James was a talented clarinetist and saxophonist, but was prevented by his father, who disliked him to the extreme, from entering Shenandoah Conservatory of Music. His brother, Laurence, once saved Jimmy’s life when father Gus tried to stomp him to death. Jimmy left home at 20, and never returned to Charlottesville.
Jimmy was also an avid tennis player, and he came to Atlantic City often to visit his older sister, Antoinette, and play tennis out at Bader Field. Because of his refusal to go anywhere near his father in Charlottesville, it was in Atlantic City that Jimmy was able to visit with his mother, who often stayed at Antoinette’s home there for extended periods of time.
Jimmy lived for a good part of his life in Spain, and was an unusually tough father (his 4 girls could never have sweets) who adhered very strictly to the tenants of the Catholic Religion. Like his sister Antoinette before him, Jimmy died of a malignant brain tumor.
For those who knew him, Jimmy was a ‘guy’s guy’!
The four children of JAMES MATACIA and ELIZABETH NOLEN are:
1) MARIA ELIZABETH MATACIA-CHENAULT b. September 2, 1954, m. DONALD CHENAULT, July 31, 1982, Jackson, Michigan.
Maria was brought up in Franco’s Spain, and attended convent in Madrid for her K through 12 education. After high school Maria attended and graduated from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. In addition, she entered the US Airforce rising to the rank of captain. Maria is a very sincere Catholic and lives in Brighton, WI with her husband, Don, and five children:
Raphael David Chenault, b. June 05, 1983; m. Loribeth Griffin August 2006. Their daughter: Mary Anne Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Chenault, b. July 2008.
Sebastian James Chenault, b. September 25, 1984; m. Christine Carson September 2007. A US Marine, after serving in the USMC for 7 years, and serving in 5 deployments to the Middle East, Sebastian got out and signed up as a contract security guard in Afghanistan.
Micaela Maria ‘Mica’ Chenault b. January 15, 1989. Mica, who is in college, is double majoring in Theater and Dance Education. She has her heart set on becoming a professional actor.
Matthias John Chenault b. August 3, 1990
Augustin Anthony Chenault b. November 30, 1992
2) ANTOINETTE ‘TONI’ MATACIA, b. September 15, 1955 Smyrna Tenn; d. June 29, 2004, Kenosha, WI.
Antoinette ‘Toni’ Matacia was named after her aunt Antoinette Matacia-Lehrer. As a young girl she was educated in the schools of Spain, while her father was stationed there serving in the U.S. Air Force. She also attended schools in San Antonio, Texas, and was a graduate of the Incarnate Word College of San Antonio.
Toni moved to Kenosha, WI around 2003, being employed as a legal secretary for Abbott Laboratory. As she loved being outdoors, she enjoyed sailing, and was a member of a bicycle club in Lake County, Illinois. In addition, and Toni taught an exercise class at Beech Pointe Senior Apartments in Kenosha.
Toni, was a very troubled woman, who had left the Catholic Church and joined the Society of the Ascension, changing her name to Daya Ishaya. She died by her own hand in June of 2004 after years of severe depression. She was 48 at the time.
3) REGINA ‘GINA’ MATACIA lives in Moses Lake, WA and has two children:
Tony Joseph Swisher, b. March 1, 1983
Cassandra Danielle ‘Cassie’ Swisher, b. May 10, 1985; m. Bruce Hargrave June 2006. Their son: Eldon b. October 2007.
Gina Matacia has been married twice. Her first husband was a Mr. Swisher whom she married during the period when the two of them were in the US Navy. They divorced when their children, Tony and Cassandra, were small. Around the time the children were going through high school, Gina married again, this time to a Mr. Green, but this marriage also ended in divorce. As Gina’s second husband, Mr. Green, did not adopt Tony and Cassandra, their surname remains that of their biological father, Mr. Swisher.
4) ANGELA MATACIA lives in Kenosha WI
Angela, a special needs child, is mentally challenged. According to her mother, Betty: “There were many who, in great faith prayed for her healing, probably at a time before it was understood that her condition was irreversible”.