April 4, 1924 — Sept. 17, 2018

Matthew Pierzchala died Sept. 17, 2018, at the age of 94.

He and his wife Norma were married for 71 years, living in their home near Washington, D.C. Matthew graduated from Washington High School in South Bend, Indiana, in June 1943. He was inducted that September into the Army and served for 28 months.

For 22 months, he served during and after World War II in England, France, Czechoslovakia, and Germany as a medic with the medical detachment of the 118th Infantry Regiment. He met Norma his first day back home in Indiana after the war. Matthew was a radio engineer, having taken advantage of the GI Bill to secure his training. He was employed at Studebaker and Bendix in South Bend, Indiana, Electro-Voice in Buchanan, Michigan, WNIL radio station in Niles, and ended his career in retiring from Voice of America in Washington, D.C. He was a ham radio operator at W8DXP. At WNIL, in the mid-1960s, he recorded the first “Hanky Panky” for Tommy James and the Shondells. After retirement, he and Norma ran Bridge games in northern Virginia into his 91st year. He is survived by his wife, Norma; daughter, Ellen (Calvin); sons, Mark (Lesley), David (Diane), and Steven (Darla); and grandchildren Alex, Anna, Esme, and Vita. No funeral services are planned.