{"id":226402,"date":"2026-06-24T02:35:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T02:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/226402\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T02:35:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T02:35:01","slug":"richard-e-rich-matus-74-of-lower-saucon-saucon-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/226402\/","title":{"rendered":"Richard E. ‘Rich’ Matus, 74, of Lower Saucon \u2013 Saucon Source"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Heintzelman<\/a><\/p>\n

Richard E. \u2018Rich\u2019 Matus (1952 \u2013 2026)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Richard E. \u201cRich\u201d Matus, 74, of Lower Saucon Township, passed away peacefully at his home on Monday, June 22, 2026. He was the loving husband of Ann Marie (Neach) Matus, with whom he shared 47 wonderful years of marriage. Born in Binghamton, N.Y., Rich dedicated his life to education, mentorship and community. He was a passionate educator who taught social studies at Quakertown Junior and Senior High schools for 35 years, inspiring generations of students. His impact extended well beyond the classroom and onto the basketball court; he served as the head basketball coach for Saucon Valley from 1988 to 2001 and later concluded his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Freedom High School Girls Basketball team. Rich held a bachelor\u2019s degree from East Stroudsburg State College and a master\u2019s degree from Lehigh University. An avid sports enthusiast, Rich was a loyal fan of both the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles, and he always looked forward to a round of golf. Above all, he cherished the simple pleasures of life\u2013sitting on the patio surrounded by family and friends, and sharing special moments with his beloved granddaughter, Delaney.<\/p>\n

SURVIVORS<\/p>\n

In addition to his devoted wife, Ann Marie, he is survived by his loving children: Lesley Matus of Pottsville, Jeffrey Matus and his wife, Lauren Zitsch, of Philadelphia, Tara Matus of Hellertown; sister, Sharon Matus of Bethlehem; niece, Rachel Hamershock of Bethlehem; great-niece, Adelynn Smith of Bethlehem; and his cherished granddaughter, Delaney Baier.<\/p>\n

SERVICES<\/p>\n

A Celebration of Life service will be announced at a later date. Online expressions of sympathy can be shared with the family at Heintzelmancares.com<\/a>. Arrangements are under the care and direction of the Heintzelman Funeral Home Inc., Hellertown.<\/p>\n

CONTRIBUTIONS<\/p>\n

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made in Richard\u2019s name to LVHN Hospice and\/or Visiting Angels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Richard E. \u2018Rich\u2019 Matus (1952 \u2013 2026) Richard E. \u201cRich\u201d Matus, 74, of Lower Saucon Township, passed away…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,2249,204,205,2252,98287,98288],"class_list":["post-226402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-heintzelman-funeral-home","tag-hellertown","tag-lower-saucon-township","tag-obituary","tag-rich-matus","tag-richard-e-matus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}