Wareen Louise Matukas passed away peacefully at home, on September 1, 2020 after a long illness. She was 79. Born on August 16, 1941 in San Jose, CA to Gilda and Warren Firenzi, she was first of three children, cherished by her young parents and both sets of grandparents.
Her early childhood was spent reading, going to movies, dressing up in her Hopalong Cassidy outfit (complete with a holster gun set), and training her dogs. She later grew up in Saratoga and graduated with highest honors from Los Gatos High School. She was recruited and offered a scholarship by George Washington University when the University thought she was Warren and not Wareen. Women were not accepted. Vassar was her first choice, however, her parents, steeped in the protective Italian culture, did not allow her to go away to college. She excelled in Political Science, graduating Summa Cum Laude from San Jose State University and was the youngest woman ever to work in a leadership role in the San Jose library system.
She met Dr. Anthony Matukas in February of 1968, fell in love, and married him on September 14 of that year. They moved to Santa Monica, where Tony completed his residency in Dermatology at UCLA. Wareen worked as the controller for an electronics company. In 1972, they moved back to Saratoga when Dr. Matukas opened his office in San Jose. Wareen was his office manager for over 32 years and became an expert in all areas of coding, insurance, Medicare, and healthcare plans. Tony and Wareen’s 52-year marriage was highlighted by trips to Hawaii, Connecticut, Toronto, and Incline Village.
With a generous heart, consummate work ethic, and inquisitive intelligence, she was often touted as everyone’s “lifeline” when playing any trivia or knowledge game. She was smart, capable and fun, and would write limericks and poems for each milestone birthday for family members.
Wareen is survived by her husband, Dr. Anthony Matukas, her sisters Carol Anglin and Midge Firenzi; her beloved aunts Lillian Zappelli and Altamae Zolezzi; sisters-in-law: Grazina Matukas, Regina Taunys, and Sr. Bernadetta; nephews Jeff (Jaimie) Anglin, Chris (Julie) Matukas and Peter (Edyta) Matukas; niece Dr. Larissa (Russell Kissoon) Matukas; grandnieces: Victoria (Scott Englert), Isabella, and Christiana Anglin, Mira Kissoon and Adelina Matukas; and grandnephews: Evan Anglin, Aidan and Samuel Matukas, and Mattias and Lukas Kissoon.
Due to the Covid pandemic, memorial services will be postponed. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are welcome in her name to the charity of your choice or to Hospice of the Valley, San Jose.
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