Joseph John Matasovsky, 93, of Regent, ND, passed away on January 20, 2009, in his home in Regent.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 24, 2009 at St. Henry's Catholic Church in Regent with Fr Charles Zins and Deacon David Crane officiating. Burial will be in the Regent Cemetery with full military honors affored by the Ulmer-Zich American Legion Post #273 of Regent.

A Rosary Service will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening at St. Henry's Catholic Church.

Special music will be provided by Bill Gion, Lance Jacobs, and Peggy Crane.

Serving as casketbearers are Charles Candrian, James Gion, Frank Jahner, Don Loh, Gary Wiseman, Jerry Jacobs, and Lawrence Klein. All of Joe's friends are considered Honorary Bearers.

The Altar Servers are Kyle Kouba, Richard Kouba, and Breeanna Kouba.

Joseph Matasovsky was born on July 9, 1915, in the family farm home northwest of Regent, to Frank and Pauline (Kouba) Matasovsky. He was the oldest of three sons who were delivered by Dr. S.W. Hill of Regent. Their mother died when the boys were ages 10, 8, and 6 so they were raised by their aunts and uncles.

Joseph attended grades 1-8 in the Horswill #1 country school near their home. He then stayed at home and helped with farming, raising cattle and coal mining. He played baseball on several teams and taught himself to play the saxophone. He played old-time music with the Kouba Bros. Orchestra for many years.

On July 10, 1942, he was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 27. He traveled by train to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and received basic training at Camp Robinson in Arkansas. He spent four months in the states before going to Angel Island in California then by boat to Oahu, Hawaii. He was stationed in Oahu, Hawaii, for one year, Gilbert Islands for 13 months, and then on Kwajalein, a small island in the Pacific. Some of the bombs weighed 2000 lbs. and a caterpillar with a hydraulic boom was used to lift them. They were hid in various places in the trees. He was then in Okinawa until the end of the war. On August 15, 1945, DJ Day, the people celebrated by shooting ammunition into the sky at night. He arrived in Seattle, Washington, by boat on November 16, 1945, and by train to Regent on November 20, 1945.

Joseph returned to the farm where he continued to work on the land he loved. He liked to weld and do general mechanics. He and his brothers lived with three uncles and three aunts and each one had a specific job to do. As the years went by he became the general caretaker of the family when they needed help or assistance and took over their duties as necessary. He sold the farm and moved into Regent in 1988 where he continued to help friends and neighbors in need. He visited many friends in nursing homes and gave rides to anyone who needed them.

He had been a director of Black Butte Township, was a member of St. Henry's Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus Council #9948 and Ulmer-Zich American Legion Post #273.

Joseph is survived by numerous cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, James and Frank; aunts, Barbara, Anna, Mathilda and Mary; and uncles, Charles, Robert, Joseph, Frank, and Edward.

Visitation will be on Friday 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Evanson-Jensen Funeral Home in Mott.