Joan Matta D. Deckard

Joan "Matta D." Deckard

Joan "Matta D." Deckard, age 85, passed away on Tuesday, November 14, 2023 at UPMC Hamot Hospital. She was born on August 3, 1938 in Pittsburgh, PA, the daughter of the late Joseph and Victoria Schmucker Matta.

She attended Edinboro University, where she earned a B.S. in Art Education and also met her then husband-to-be, John Silk Deckard. She became an accomplished Fine Artist and went by the professional name "Matta D." Her artwork has been included in the collections of museums and private collectors all over the world. She was a past recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Edinboro University.

Matta D. was also a philanthropist, utilizing her talents to raise money for many local organizations including WQLN and the Erie Summer Festival of the Arts, among others.

Her life was like her artwork, eclectic and eccentric, full of color, enthusiastic and vivacious.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, John Silk Deckard.

Matta D. is survived by her daughter, Nicole Stanger (Thomas); her son, Silk St. John Matta Deckard; her grandson, Deckard Stanger (Jaquelyn); her great-grandson, Ivan Stanger; and her personal representative and agent, Vince Palermo. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews, and many friends.

Friends are invited to call at the John R. Orlando Funeral Home, Inc., 2122 Raspberry Street, on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and may attend a Committal Prayer Service on Monday at 10 a.m. at Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum, 3325 West Lake Road. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family in care of the funeral home.