Jane Muse Matteson

Published 9:32 am Monday, September 11, 2017

September 30, 1925 – August 2, 2017

Jane Muse Matteson, 91, passed away at the Partners In Care Hospice House in Bend, Oregon, on August 2.

Jane Matteson had a rich and full life. She was a mental health counselor, a teacher in rural Africa, a watercolor painter, an avid golfer, skier and Scrabble player, a wife, and mother to four boys. Throughout her life, she displayed great compassion and wisdom. She enriched the lives of those who knew her.

Jane Elizabeth Muse was born September 30, 1925, in Washington, D.C. to Frank and Elizabeth Muse. She graduated from Connecticut College for Women with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1947.

That same year, she married Leonard Matteson. They initially settled in Levittown, New York, but the growing family also lived in Boston, Massachusetts, Binghamton, New York, and in the Los Angeles, California, communities of Woodland Hills and Diamond Bar.

In the 1970’s, she became interested in the human potential movement and earned a master’s degree in marriage, family and child counseling from California State University, Northridge. Subsequently, she worked at the Verdugo Hills Counseling Center in Glendale, California. At age 60, she retired from the clinic and joined the Peace Corps. She was sent to Africa where she taught children in Luanda, Kenya.

Upon returning to the US, she moved to Morehead City, North Carolina, to be close to the ocean and her best friend and cousin Mildred Voorhees. With Millie and Ed Voorhees, she traveled to England, France, and Italy to study painting.

After being diagnosed with COPD in 2011, she moved to Bend, Oregon, where she was constantly supported by her youngest son, Allen, his wife Ellen, and their family.

Jane Muse Matteson is survived by her sons; Allen, 60, of Bend, William Chadwick, 62, and John, 65, both of Hailey, Idaho, as well as five grandchildren; Kate, Elizabeth, Mike, Ben, and Brian. She is also survived by her brother Chad Muse of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and her sister Sue Muse Pachter of Atlanta, Georgia. Her eldest son, Leonard Jerome Matteson III, died in 1974.

Her ashes will be spread from places she loved along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Details for a remembrance will be announced later. Jane Matteson will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be directed to Partners In Care Hospice, 2075 NE Wyatt Court, Bend, OR 97701.

For further information contact Mr. Chad Matteson at WCMatteson@yahoo.com.