Ben Dr. Matassarin
October 25, 2010
Matassarin, Dr. Ben, 90, passed away Monday, October 25, 2010. Service will be at 10:00 a.m., Friday, October 29, at Downing Lahey Mortuary East. Dr. Ben Matassarin practiced medicine for over 6 decades and was still practicing medicine at the time of his death. The fellowship program at the University of Kansas was specifically created for Dr. Matassarin who was thus the first fellow in Internal Medicine at the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and Wichita State University. He was “a pioneer in diabetes and liver disease researchand published the first test for liver cell damage in 1952” in the American Journal of Medicine. He helped begin the Sedgwick County Diabetes Association and was president of St. Francis Hospital Medical Staff. He was the advance guard of Utilization Review, heading the St. Francis Utilization Review for many years. Dr. Matassarin was a proud member of the United States Army. He was in ROTC in high school and college and was commander of the Scabbord and Blade. He was the Post Surgeon in Charge of the White Sands Proving Grounds when Wernher von Braun was there. He loved his family and friends and was a devoted physician. Preceded in death by wife, Georgia Mae (Landrith) Matassarin. Survivors: children, Linda Lee and Dr. Dennis Buth of Wichita, Gary L. Matassarin of Ithaca, NY, and Kathy “Kat” Matassarin of Northbrook, IL; brother, Richard Matassarin of Newport Beach, CA; grandchildren, Trenton Matassarin, Rhain (Ashleigh) Buth, Shiloh (Julie) Buth, Dawn Buth and Brittany Cohen. Memorials have been established with The American Diabetes Association, 837 S. Hillside, Wichita, KS, 67211 and The Childrens Theatre Foundation of America, 1114 Red Oak Drive, Avon, IN, 46123.
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Please accept our deepest condolences for your family’s loss.
To The Matassarin/Buth Family: I weep today for your family. You have lost a Father, Grandfather, and friend. I weep today for myself, for I have lost a great doctor as well as someone near and dear to my heart. I became Dr. Matassarin’s patient in my early 20’s at the advice of a physician I was employed by. My husband and his family were already long time patients of Dr. Buth. I didn’t know at the time; I was going to need someone very attentive, understanding, patient, caring, and brilliant. I was later diagnosed with an incurable disease and from that moment on Dr. Matassarin became my rock. At one point during this journey he saved my life. He did what many doctors don’t do anymore, a good old fashion hands on examination; as he always did. He found my liver to be enlarged. I had not been going for my regular checkups and the illness was making me more sick than I realized. He ordered further testing to verify his findings, and as always he was correct. I admired his brilliance as well as his stamina, he never wavered. I knew just by watching him, practicing medicine made him happy and must have been very satisfying to him. Please know your family is in my prayers and I too will miss him dearly. God Bless, Candyce Portley
Dr. Ben will be missed greatly! I will forever cherish his generousity and compassion. He was a pleasure to work for while I was at Galichia. He not only was concerned for me but my family as well-he was truly one of a kind. I will always remember his morning ritual at GMED of a diet coke and cheetos….brings a smile to my face. My thoughts and prayers to your family…Dawn
Dr. Matassarin, Such a compassionate,involved and loving professional.Dr. Ben, will be so missed and so honored for his hard work and expertise…My wish is that all medical people will follow his powerful path of being a good human being.
Divine destiny happens in our lives sometimes and we don’t realize it until later on down the road. That’s how Saundra and I feel when I went to work for Dr. Ben in the early 70’s. Since that day he has been a very intricate part of our lives, he and his family, and we know that we have been an intricate part of the Matassarin family. There have been no comparisons of employers to an employee in any of my work place experiences. He saw me as an individual person and my attributes as well as my family. We hold with high esteem his memories, his professionalism in the community and his love for all people. He was a very kind and good man. We have fond memories of him and will always miss him. Sincerely, Sherfield & Saundra Dawson
Dear beloved family of Dr. Ben Matassarin, it is our most heartfelt thoughts and prayers that are with you. We loved him so much and can hardly imagine the grief that you are going through. He was such a good man in all categories. The Dawsons will always have beautiful memories of him and G.Mae. Thank you for letting us be a part of your family for so many years. Dr. Ben was our ‘Rock Chalk Jayhawk’ Role model! Grandchildren continue to make him proud. We join with you in sympathy of his passing. May God’s love and peace surround you all forever.
Dear Linda, Kat, and Gary, I am so very sorry to hear of your father’s passing. He was my first employer after I graduated from nursing school. He was the kindest and most compassionate man I have ever known. He will be missed by everyone whose life he touched. Love and prayers
Dr. Ben was our doctor for 60 years, but more than that he was our friend. We shared joys as our families grew and had families of their own, and as we became older we laughed and reminisced with stories of past friends and events. We will miss Ben, he was one of a kind, holding our hand when we were afraid, listening with such patience to our concerns and complaints, his cheerful smile and caring heart relieved our fears and comforted our spirits. He was a healer of the body, and even more, a friend to us all.
Dr. Ben was my doctor for more than 45 years and a neighbor for more than 32 years. He was a fine gentleman and a great friend. We had many good times at the card room at Rolling Hills CC. Also enjoyed visiting with G. Mae and Dawn at the swimming pool. He will be missed by many.
with a sad heart, i offer prayers and condolences to family and friends of Dr. Ben Matassarin. my own father passed away in wichita on august 25, 1950, i was three yrs old. Dr Matassarin made a home visit, rare in current times, and helped to hospitalize my father. every time i get a check-up by my physician these days, i would always say hi to Dr Matassarin, he was always very kind to say hello. somehow, my life continued with connections to him: Dennis Buth is my doctor, i attended southeast h.s. with both Dr. Buth and Gary Matassarin. God bless you, Dr. Matassarin. John Turck, Wichita, ks.
My Doctor, Ben, was a great doctor, a great man, and a great tennis advisor. We will miss him. Our thoughts, love and prayers are with you all at this time. Larry & Betty Jones
Jack and I are both supprised and sad to learn that our dear friend and doctor will no longer be around to share with us his love and protection. When we last had dinner together about a month ago he said he was feeling so much better he wanted to go to the Scotch & Sirloin to have a steak. When we learned Hospice had been called in we couldn’t beleive it was near the end. We share with you a great loss.
Linda & Dennis – I am so sorry to read of your dad’s passing, but what a blessing that he touched lives of family and friends for 90 years. I understand how hard it is to have him gone, but what a joy that he was able to watch his children grow and enjoy their children. You are in my thoughts and prayers. Peace.
Linda and Gary, I was sad to hear of the passing of Uncle Ben. I will be out of town on Friday doing an arbitration in Kansas City so I am unable to attend the service, but I plan to go by Linda’s house. I remember all the fun times our families had traveling together through the years. As the kids of doctors we had a great life. Uncle Ben was always the go-to guy for us kids when we couldn’t talk to our own parents. He will be sadly missed.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all. I am sad to hear that Dr. Ben passed away. I remember many trips to his home usually on Holidays like Thanksgiving and I especially remember Jeff Ruby almost burning down his bushes on July 4th. He wasn’t too happy about that. He was a great man and I will always be thankful that I knew him.
Our sincere condolences are extended to the family of Dr. Ben Matassarin. We will keep Dr. Matassarin and his family in our prayers. May God Bless.
A truly great human being has passed. I will remember how his kindness, generosity and wisdom helped shape my life.
Linda, Gary, and ‘Chatty’ Kathy, I am sad to hear that Dr. Ben has passed away. He was truly a special man. I have so many fond memories of Dr. Ben. He was an anchor in my life. I enjoyed the Saturday afternoon basketball games at his home on 8th and Woodlawn. It seemed that the Matassarin home was the ‘hub’ where we all hung out. I think that was the case because Dr. Ben and Mrs. Matassarrin were so accommodating and hospitable to us. I learned a lot of parenting skills from Dr. Ben. He was very supportive of his children and their friends and was always available to help in a time of need. He got involved in the things we were involved in. I learned from Dr. Ben that work could and should be enjoyable. He had such a passion for his profession and he seemed to never slow down. Although he worked hard, he had a wonderful balance to his life. He always had time to attend his family’s b-ball games, tennis matches, going to Kathy’s plays, etc. I enjoyed the times we got to play golf together. I am going to be out of town this weekend and will not be able to attend the memorial. I wish I could be there to celebrate his life. We have all been blessed to know him.