Ronald Charles Matson

Portland- Ronald C. Matson, 87, died peacefully on Thursday, January 16, 2020 following a long period of declining health. Ronald was born in Chicago, IL, the son of the late Marvin A. and Bertha M. (Kulish) Matson. He was educated in the Chicago public school system and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Northwestern University in 1954. Ron was drafted into the United States Army, Intelligence Division, immediately after graduating from college, serving in Stuttgart, Germany. On April 16, 1955, just prior to his departure for the Army, he married the love of his life, Marie A. Bruno, whom he met at Northwestern University on an arranged blind date. Discharged from the Army in 1957, Ron and Marie returned to Chicago, where he worked for a small family company, Clayton Mark, before he began his long career with Honeywell in Morton Grove, IL. In June of 1964 they moved to Minnesota where he worked at the Honeywell Headquarters. In 1968, Ron was transferred to work for the Honeywell Europe division, first in Frankfurt, Germany, for a year, and then in Brussels, Belgium, where he was the CFO. All four of Ron's children received part of their education at the International School of Brussels, where he served as President on the Board of Directors. Ron was also the President of Little League Baseball in Brussels. In 1975, Ron transferred back to Minnesota, finishing out his Honeywell career as Vice President and General Manager of the Protection Services Division. Ron and Marie moved to New Jersey in 1990, where, as CEO of Cerberus Pyrotronics (Siemens), he traveled the globe providing fire safety services for some of the largest buildings in the world. He retired in 2001 and settled in Maine in 2014. Ron had a great love of mystery novels and jazz music. He was supportive of others and very motivated. He was very productive and proud to have carved out a successful career, meeting all of his life's ambitions for himself. Ron was predeceased by a sister, Jeanne Bertke; a daughter in law, Wendy Stout Matson. He is survived by his wife, Marie A. Matson of Portland; three sons, Jeffrey C. Matson and his wife, Terri Nickel of Richmond, VA, Bradford T. Matson and his wife, Susan Carey of Chicago, IL, and Robert J. and his wife, Mari Matson of Falmouth, ME; a daughter, Anne Marie and her husband James Hillary of Denver, Co.; two brothers, Daniel Matson of CA, and John Matson of AK; grandchildren, Nora, Grace, Alexandra, Mercedes, Peter, Mark, Charlotte, Sofie, August, and Milo; great grandson, Charlie. At the family's request all services will be private. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 172 State Street, Portland, ME. To view Ron's memorial page, or to share an online condolence, please visit www.ConroyTullyWalker.com Those who wish may make contributions in Ron's memory to: Falmouth Little League, C/O Falmouth Little League President Robert J. Matson, 15 Foreside Road, Falmouth, ME 04105