Gregory "Buddy" Michele Mattaliano

Gregory “Buddy” Michele Mattaliano, of Sun City, Arizona, passed away on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at the age of 91 years. After months of failing health, he died peacefully at home while surrounded by loved ones. Buddy was born on December 1, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY to Vincent “Jimmy” & Iolanda “Betty” Mattaliano. He was the first born – followed by his brothers Michael, Vincent “Junior” and the youngest, his sister Vivian. In 1947 he enlisted in the US Navy where his work included Printing & Lithography. He was stationed at various shore stations – including New York, Virginia, Connecticut & Naples, Italy – as well as aboard many Naval ships – including ‘Plank Owner’ on the USS Constellation CVA-64 (Aircraft Carrier), USS Missouri BB-63 (Battleship), USS Intrepid CVA-11 (Carrier) and the USS Lake Champlain CV-11 (Carrier), which he was upon during retrieval of one of the Gemini space capsules after its return to earth. On May 19, 1951, he married the love of his life, Gloria Smith, of Bronx, NY, and raised 5 children together. They lived in many stations around the world and after 21 years of patriotic duty, Buddy retired from the US Navy. We truly thank him for his service. They settled in Cypress, CA, in 1970 and he was employed by the US Navy at the Naval Shipyard in Long Beach, CA. As a Lithographer, he did “all the photography needed for the reproduction of blueprints and mylars and whatever else was needed to support the shipyard in the repairing of ships”, as quoted directly from a short autobiography he was writing prior to his passing. In 1990, after a challenging year and nearly 40 years of marriage, Gloria lost her hard-fought battle with cancer. In the months following her passing, he retired from his position at the shipyard, chuckling, saying ‘I guess I can retire now. I was only working so Gloria could have spending money’. He always had a wonderful sense of humor, even in the hardest of times. One day while visiting Gloria’s burial site, he met Jeannie Horton, who was visiting the grave of her late husband. Buddy and Jeannie became fast friends and life partners. They moved to Sun City, Arizona where they lived together until her passing in 2010. Although they never married, he considered her children Ken & Steve his ‘step-sons’ and he cherished their friendship. He truly enjoyed sharing the stories of his life to anyone who was willing to listen - was a sweet, caring man, always friendly & helpful, and he never missed an opportunity to take care of others. He is already greatly missed. Buddy is survived by his 5 grown children – Gregory Mattaliano of Sun City West, AZ; Loretta Wagner of Mt. Juliet, TN; Freddie Peterson of Weatherford, TX; Vincent Mattaliano of Huntington Beach, CA; and Corey Mattaliano of Buena Park, CA.; 11 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren. A memorial service is scheduled for 1pm on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at the Heritage Funeral Chapel in Peoria, AZ.