Matthew Gerald Soltis

Matthew (Matt) Gerald Soltis, a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, public servant, Texas entrepreneur and philanthropist, died February 22 at home at the age of 78 with his loving family by his side. Matt valiantly fought pancreatic cancer for nearly two years before being called home by God and will be remembered by all who knew him as a man of great spirituality, character, kindness, compassion and intellect. Matt was born into humble Catholic roots in a second-generation working class family in Norwalk, Connecticut, on December 19th, 1936. A child of the Great Depression, Matt embodied the work ethic and family values of his generation, casting aside difficult circumstances and rising to the challenges of the day. After graduating from Norwalk High School, Matt enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1954, and was stationed in south Georgia, upstate New York, St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Oxnard Air Force Base in California where he was a decorated member of the Air Force Military Police. It was in Southern California where Matt met the love of his life for the past 56 years, Deanna Jean Hall Soltis, a native of Los Angeles. The couple married in 1959 and settled in Southern California where they brought two children into this world. Matt took his rigorous military police training and enrolled in the Los Angeles Police Academy in 1959, where he impressed his superiors and landed coveted patrolman and investigator roles throughout the turbulent 1960s. While at times working several jobs to make ends meet, Matt also found time to study at night school at Los Angeles’ El Camino College, where he excelled in criminology. Among Matt’s many accomplishments in Los Angeles County was his founding of The Gardena Valley Youth Counseling Service, a non-profit organization dedicated to counseling at-risk youth in this diverse, working-class neighborhood. In 1969 he was recognized by then Governor Ronald Reagan for his leadership in the Gardena Junior Chamber of Commerce where he served as President. Later that year, Matt left the police force and began a 20-year corporate career with Atlantic Richfield Oil Company (ARCO) as a senior investigator. In this role, Matt moved his family to the Chicago area and finally to Dallas in 1976. While at ARCO, Matt was responsible for some of the company’s largest oil field fraud and theft investigations, a career that would take him across the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Europe. He also played a major role in securing the new ARCO Chemical facility that opened in Plano, Texas, in the late 1970s.

After retiring from ARCO in the late 1980s, Matt began a 20-year stint as an entrepreneur, founding Stony Chase Ranch, a cattle production company; Verification Inc., an environmental services company; and numerous real estate and consulting services. Matt’s artistic side was always on display throughout his life as well. An accomplished painter, writer and photographer, Matt had an unbridled love for the creative arts and the humanities. He will always be remembered as a kind-hearted soul who loved his fellow man and took extra pains to ensure that those less fortunate were always part of his family and friendship circle. Above all, Matt loved his family, his adopted state of Texas and the American Southwest. In his later years,

Matt spent a lot of free time traveling the country he loved so much with his family, exploring the majestic outdoors of Texas, New Mexico, the California Sierras, the Colorado Rockies and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia and Georgia. A die-hard fan of his beloved Dallas Cowboys, Baylor Bears, Texas Longhorns, Auburn Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs, Matt found time to not only celebrate his family roots but honor them with his unyielding loyalty and love. Matt is survived by his brother Donald Soltis and wife Pansy, and a host of family and friends. He was blessed to have his wife of 56 years Deanna Soltis, daughter Kathy Mason and son-in-law Kevin Mason, son Stephen Soltis and daughter-in-law Stacy Soltis, grandchildren Ryan Dawson and his love Bailey Milliman, Annie Soltis, Chris Soltis, Dezerae Coursey and husband Shawn Coursey, Chris Mason and wife Laura Mason, great-grandchildren Chance Coursey, Chase Coursey, Makenna Mason, Noah Dawson and Davis Mason. The family would like to thank the health care providers of Baylor Carrollton, LifeCare Hospitals of Dallas, Accel Rehabilitation Hospital, Accel of Willowbend and Altus Hospice. The beauty of their skills, compassion and care helped make a most difficult time so much easier. Thanks especially to dear Karen Meyer, RN from Altus who guided us through those last hours. Funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday, February 27, 2015 at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Carrollton, Texas.