Rosalinda Santiago Matic

Rosalinda Santiago Matic passed away on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, after a long illness. Known lovingly as Mom, Lola, Na-Charing, May, Rose, Ate, Auntie, Tita, friend, neighbor and confidante. She lived her life with grace, enduring patience, unending love and ongoing hope for the three generations of Matic family members, whom she cared for and helped raise throughout her life in the Philippines and the United States.

Rosalinda was born in Vargas, Santa Ignacia in the province of Tarlac, Philippines, on October 20, 1935, to Alfredo Santiago and Esmenia Caalin. She was raised and religiously lived as a dedicated member of Iglesia ni Cristo, wherever she lived - from Tarlac City, Manila to South Orange, New Jersey.

In 1954, she moved to Manila to pursue higher education and eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from National Teachers College. She built a career as a home economics teacher before emigrating to the United States in July 1977, where she joined her husband, Hosea P. Matic, Sr. They made a home in Dover, New Jersey for three decades and lived with their extended family, supporting their emigration and growth in the country. She worked from Howmet Corporation for 21 years and retired in 1999.

To know Rosalinda, was to experience her creativity found in the dishes and desserts she prepared, which were enjoyed at the kitchen table and many family celebrations. Her tiramisu, cheesecake, almond thumbprints, BBQ sticks, pancit and many other tasty dishes will be missed.  As an avid seamstress, if she wasn’t cooking, Rosalinda could be found at her Singer sewing machine where she would create or fix clothes for herself and family. She was also skilled as a green thumb, successfully yielding tomatoes, ampalaya, eggplant, roses and other plants.

She is pre-deceased by her husband, Hosea P. Matic, Sr. and is survived by her three adult children: Hosea Matic, Jr., Laarni Matic, and Maria Melanie Swanson; grandchildren Julie Matic, Jonathan Matic, Josephine Matic, Arnie Lalo, John Vincent Lalo, Johanna Matic, Kyra Jean Cipolla, Gavin Swanson, Alex Swanson and Naomi Swanson; and great-grandchildren Georgia Ann Boyd Matic, Matthew Alan Hartlaub Matic, and Camila Lalo.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2024 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Union Funeral Home - 1600 Stuyvesant Ave. Union, NJ 07083.

Additional funeral service will take place in Tarlac, Philippines under the professional care of Enriquez Funeral Parlor. Interment will take place at The Garden of the Holy Sacrifice - Santa Ignacia, Tarlac at a later date.

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