Alfreda Matschuck's Obituary
Freda was born in Sunderland, England on 13th October 1922, and was the second youngest of 15 children. Sunderland is 250 miles north of London and was dominated by shipbuilding, engineering and coal mining. Fredas father worked in shipbuilding, as did her grandfather, who was also a very highly regarded Methodist Preacher. Indeed Freda was an exceptional Christian lady and on moving to San Diego in 1960 joined Faith Lutheran Church in Orange Avenue, and described it as her new family and willingly volunteered to visit the sick, organize flowers, coffee & doughnuts etc.,as well being a member of the Alter Guild and Stephen Ministry.Fredas journey to San Diego was eventful. It first started as a 16 yr old leaving the family home to travel to London for employment in service to a wealthy family. Two of her elder sisters had already followed this path and when one married and left, Freda was recruited to take her place, but as the Second World War started Freda joined the war effort working in a factory as a coil winder for communication equipment. It was in London that Freda met a Canadian soldier, married and left for Vancouver on the Queen Mary in 1946. Following her divorce, Freda met Henry Matschuck, and after their marriage in 1959, quickly re located to the USA and settled in San Diego because of their desire to become USA citizens and to enjoy a climate better suited to their outdoor life of sailing, swimming, fishing and camping.Freda was always very active and a keen volunteer for good causes including The Salvation Army Door of Hope Home and Hospital- a 13 bed maternity home for unwed mothers, and later at Valley View Community Hospital after leaving work at Walker Scott on Broadway. Freda enjoyed meeting people and kept up to date with all the news, be it national, local or movie stars, and also relished vacations- ideally with friends to Las Vegas, Hawaii or Cruises, and in earlier years by camping in Yosemite or the mountains. She also treasured time spent with close friends for meals and outings.Despite being so far from home, Freda kept in touch with all her family and on several trips to England ensured she called on everyone. She encouraged family to visit from England and Germany and we were fortunate last Easter to see Freda at her Board & Care with our son and 3 grandchildren who she was delighted to see.As Freda and Henry’s health declined in the latter years, we must thank all her American Family – Church, friends, carers, and neighbors for their help and support, particularly neighbor Madeline, who Freda described as more like a daughter by so willingly supporting them with shopping, doctor appointments, medical advice etc., and in doing so greatly improving their quality of life and enabling them to continue living in their own home for as long as possible.
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