Eugene T. Matusiak, age 98, a resident of Chicago, IL, died Tuesday, August 21, 2018, at DuPage Care Center in Wheaton, Illinois. He was born February 6, 1920 in Chicago, Illinois.

A child of the Depression, he and his two brothers created their own fun. In the winter, they would flood a large field behind their Central Park home for skating and used it as a ball field during the warm months. That field was destined to become part of the Kennedy Expressway at Addison Ave. Eugene always displayed an artistic hand and his family enjoyed the caricatures of Hollywood stars that he drew. Following up on that special gift, he attended Chicago Technical College at night for architectural drawing while working full time during the day. His ambitions were cut short when he was inducted into the Army in February of 1942. He served in India as a cryptographic technician and telephone and telegraph mechanic until October of 1945. He came home and began working as a machinist and married Elaine Jurczykowski in 1947. They raised a daughter and son and were married for almost 50 years. Eugene always made time for fishing and after he retired in 1983, he began taking art classes and continued to paint in oil and watercolor for the rest of his life.

He is survived by his daughter, Nancy (Bob) Wrobel of Winfield and granddaughters Casey (Matt) Graff and Maxine Wrobel.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Elaine; his son, Michael; and his daughter, Susan.

A funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. at St. Bartholomew Church , 3601 N Lavergne Ave, in Chicago. Interment will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to Cat Guardians , 932 E. St. Charles Road, Lombard, IL 60148.