Pittstown- Harry Matala, 91, a lifelong resident of Pittstown and longtime family dairy farmer, died peacefully Sunday, January 9, 2022, at his home with his family by his side following a short illness and wonderfully full life as a family man and dairy farmer.
Born December 7, 1930, on the Pittstown family farm, Mr. Matala was the son of the late Paul and Anna (Spiak) Matala and, for over 66 years, the husband of Virginia A. (Smith) Matala of Pittstown, who survives. Mr. and Mrs. Matala were married on October 29, 1955.
Mr. Matala attended the Cooksboro District School and was a graduate of Lansingburgh High School.
As a young man, Mr. Matala worked the family dairy farm with his father and operated a milk route, picking up full, 100 pound milk cans from many local dairy farmers and delivering them to the Dairy Cooperative in Menands. More recently he had been the owner and operator of the family farm and assisted in custom farming and haying operations with many of the neighboring farms. After a life of doing a job he loved, he retired in 2012.
Mr. Matala was a communicant of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Cohoes. In his quiet time, of which there was not very much as a dairy farmer, he enjoyed visiting all the local county fairs, where his family showed their livestock. He enjoyed traveling to Albany and Glens Falls to attend WWF wrestling events and watching wrestling on his TV as a way to unwind and relax.
In addition to his wife, Virginia, Mr. Matala is survived by his six children and their spouses, Virginia and Harry Nicholas of Petersburgh, Harry Dennis Matala and Tammy Warrington of Troy, Matthew and Rebecca Matala of Malta, Jonathan and Kimberly Matala of Cohoes, Todd and Stacey Matala of Valley Falls, and Stephanie and Stewart Ellis of Pittstown, several grandchildren, great-grand-children, and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by two brothers and three sisters.
A funeral prayer service for Mr. Matala will be held on Friday, January 14, 2022, at 12:30 p.m. at the Howard B. Tate and Son Funeral Home Inc., 2237 New York Route 7, located in Raymertown. Burial will follow in the family plot located at Elmwood Hill Cemetery in Troy. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Thursday, January 13, 2022, from 4:00-7:00 p.m., where Very Reverend Terenti Wasielewski, Rector of St. Nicholas, will sing the Russian Orthodox Funeral Liturgy at 6:00 p.m.
Memorial contributions, if desired, may be made to the Rensselaer County Unified Family Services, Department of Aging, Nutrition Program (Meals on Wheels), 1600 - 7th Avenue, Troy, NY 12180, in memory of Harry Matala.
All guests and visitors to the funeral home are required to wear appropriate face masks, practice safe social distancing, and sign the contact tracing form to help insure the health and safety of all those attending.
Born December 7, 1930, on the Pittstown family farm, Mr. Matala was the son of the late Paul and Anna (Spiak) Matala and, for over 66 years, the husband of Virginia A. (Smith) Matala of Pittstown, who survives. Mr. and Mrs. Matala were married on October 29, 1955.
Mr. Matala attended the Cooksboro District School and was a graduate of Lansingburgh High School.
As a young man, Mr. Matala worked the family dairy farm with his father and operated a milk route, picking up full, 100 pound milk cans from many local dairy farmers and delivering them to the Dairy Cooperative in Menands. More recently he had been the owner and operator of the family farm and assisted in custom farming and haying operations with many of the neighboring farms. After a life of doing a job he loved, he retired in 2012.
Mr. Matala was a communicant of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Cohoes. In his quiet time, of which there was not very much as a dairy farmer, he enjoyed visiting all the local county fairs, where his family showed their livestock. He enjoyed traveling to Albany and Glens Falls to attend WWF wrestling events and watching wrestling on his TV as a way to unwind and relax.
In addition to his wife, Virginia, Mr. Matala is survived by his six children and their spouses, Virginia and Harry Nicholas of Petersburgh, Harry Dennis Matala and Tammy Warrington of Troy, Matthew and Rebecca Matala of Malta, Jonathan and Kimberly Matala of Cohoes, Todd and Stacey Matala of Valley Falls, and Stephanie and Stewart Ellis of Pittstown, several grandchildren, great-grand-children, and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by two brothers and three sisters.
A funeral prayer service for Mr. Matala will be held on Friday, January 14, 2022, at 12:30 p.m. at the Howard B. Tate and Son Funeral Home Inc., 2237 New York Route 7, located in Raymertown. Burial will follow in the family plot located at Elmwood Hill Cemetery in Troy. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Thursday, January 13, 2022, from 4:00-7:00 p.m., where Very Reverend Terenti Wasielewski, Rector of St. Nicholas, will sing the Russian Orthodox Funeral Liturgy at 6:00 p.m.
Memorial contributions, if desired, may be made to the Rensselaer County Unified Family Services, Department of Aging, Nutrition Program (Meals on Wheels), 1600 - 7th Avenue, Troy, NY 12180, in memory of Harry Matala.
All guests and visitors to the funeral home are required to wear appropriate face masks, practice safe social distancing, and sign the contact tracing form to help insure the health and safety of all those attending.
