{"id":23900,"date":"2012-03-04T14:30:03","date_gmt":"2012-03-04T18:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/?p=23900"},"modified":"2012-03-04T14:30:03","modified_gmt":"2012-03-04T18:30:03","slug":"loss-of-a-jet-michael-matts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jetwit.com\/wordpress\/2012\/03\/04\/loss-of-a-jet-michael-matts\/","title":{"rendered":"Loss of a JET: Michael Matts"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was saddened to see in the March 3, 2012 issue of the JETAA Southern California Newsletter<\/a> that Osaka JET Michael Hennessy Matts<\/strong> recently died. \u00a0Here’s the text:<\/p>\n

“JETAASC regrets to inform you of the death of Michael Hennessy Matts, an ALT serving in Osaka. A memorial service was held for Matts in Tucson on February 25th. Please follow the link for his full obituary and ways to help his family<\/a><\/strong> after his tragic death.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From the obituary (http:\/\/www.legacy.com\/obituaries\/tucson\/obituary.aspx?n=michael-hennessey-matts&pid=155921357<\/a>):<\/p>\n

Michael Hennessey Matts<\/h3>\n

\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Visit\u00a0Guest\u00a0Book<\/a><\/h3>\n
Michael Hennessey Matts Tragically on February 4, 2012 in Osaka, Japan at the age of 23. Remarkable son of Noreen and Richard; beloved brother of Megan. After attending Waseda University in Tokyo in 2009 – 2010 and graduating from the University of Arizona in May, 2011 with degrees in East Asian Studies and Economics, Michael returned to Japan to teach in July, 2011. He died in the country he loved. Michael’s grandma, uncles, Tom and Jim, aunts Susan, Lou and Marcia, his eight cousins and his godparents, Nancy and George, believe Michael hung the moon. His friends and colleagues agree. Michael: you are our hero. We love you and we will miss your beautiful presence for all of our lives. A Memorial Mass will be held at the Saint Thomas More Newman Center at 1615 E. Second Street on the University of Arizona campus on Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. A reception to celebrate Michael’s life will follow at the Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm Street at 11:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona where Michael volunteered. Please go to\u00a0http:\/\/g.co\/maps\/gq6um<\/a>\u00a0for directions to the Newman Center and for alternative parking suggestions.<\/div>\n

Please feel free to share thoughts in the comments section of this post or in the Guest Book for the obituary.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was saddened to see in the March 3, 2012 issue of the JETAA Southern California Newsletter that Osaka JET Michael Hennessy Matts recently died. \u00a0Here’s the text: “JETAASC regrets to inform you of the death of Michael Hennessy Matts, an ALT serving in Osaka. A memorial service was held for Matts in Tucson on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[318],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-jets-in-the-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t