April 19, 1940 - June 6, 2021
Thomas Matro, 81, of Warren, NJ, died peacefully at home on June 6, 2021. He was born and raised in Hammonton, NJ. and graduated from St. Joseph’s High School and Rutgers University. He received his PhD in English Literature from Rutgers University.
Tom began teaching at Rutgers New Brunswick in 1971. In 1972-73, he served on several planning committees for the then new Cook College. In 1973, he became Chair of the new Department of Humanities and Communication at Cook. He served in that capacity until 1981 when he became Director of the Cook College General Honors Program, wherein he developed and team-taught the interdisciplinary Honors seminars. In the transition of Cook College to the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, he remained as Director of the Honors Program and member of the English Department. He was also an active member of the Humanities and Technology Association, serving on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors as Vice President and as President from 1997-2000.
He was an avid tennis player and enjoyed traveling with and cooking for his family and friends.
Tom was predeceased by his parents, Anthony and Madeline and his sisters: Carmela Matro, Rae Plick and Virginia Butterhof.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Deborah; his sons, Michael (Kelly) of New Hope, PA, and Daniel (Katharina) of Bethesda, MD; his daughters, Rebecca and Jennifer, both of San Diego, CA; and his four grandchildren: Jack, Willa, Marie, and Anna.
Visitation will be at the Flynn and Son/Koyen Funeral Home, 319 Amboy Ave., Metuchen, NJ 08840 on Saturday, June 12, 2021, from 11am to 12 Noon. There will be a funeral service, where friends and family will speak, on Saturday at 12 Noon at the funeral home. Entombment will follow at Woodbridge Memorial Gardens. The family request that people attending the visitation and funeral service wear a mask if they are not vaccinated.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Rutgers Foundation, English Graduate Program (335 George St, Fourth Floor, New Brunswick, NJ 08901).
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