Daniel J. Matyola ’63

Daniel J. Matyola ’63 died on May 2 from complications of recent surgery. Dan was born in Somerville, New Jersey, and attended Somerville High School, where he received a perfect SAT score. At Dartmouth Dan majored in international relations, was a brother of Alpha Chi Rho, was active at WDCR and crew, and in the International Relations Club, Russian Club, and Young Republicans Club. He enlisted in the Marines, finding himself in the same boot camp platoon as classmates Clayton Hering and Carl Fogelberg. He was sent to flight school in Pensacola, Florida, and trained as a bombardier for the A-6 Intruder and a radar intercept officer for the F-4B Phantom, seeing 208 missions in the F-4B over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. He left the corps after five years as a captain, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and several other medals. Dan then attended Rutgers Law School, receiving his J.D. in 1971. After clerking for a state supreme court justice, Dan joined the office of the governor of New Jersey and, on one occasion, “had the honor of explaining to Gov. Wallace of Alabama why New Jersey would not return to an Alabama chain gang a man who had lived a legal and productive life in New Jersey for 35 years.” After working for a local firm, Dan formed his own firm specializing in banking and real estate. He was a charter member and past president of the Rotary Club and was active in many local boards and charitable groups, such as Boy Scouts and 4H. He and his son were scuba divers around the world and he was an active stamp collector and breeder of monarch butterflies. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Lee, and a son.