Robert W. Matje, retired business executive, Vietnam veteran, and community volunteer, has died at 84

Robert W. Matje, 84, of Malvern, longtime sales manager and executive at Paper Corp. of America, decorated Army combat veteran, and tireless community volunteer, died Wednesday, April 10, of cardiac amyloidosis at Paoli Hospital.

Mr. Matje started his business career as a salesman for the Westvaco paper company in the early 1970s. He took a similar job at Paper Corp. of America in the early 1980s and rose to company vice president before retiring in 2006.

He was adept at managing and connecting with people as both a business person and Army officer, and his son Bob said: “He was always the go-to person for communication with both young people and adults. He had a unique way of communicating what could and could not be done.” His family said in a tribute: “He was a dynamic leader, manager, and tactical problem solver.”

Mr. Matje served in the Army from 1962 to 1968 as a platoon leader and battalion intelligence officer in Germany, and senior adviser for combat operations in Vietnam in 1966 and ‘67. He underwent airborne and ranger training, was promoted to captain, and earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal, and Air Medal in 1967 for successfully directing aircraft to key targets during heavy fighting in South Vietnam.

He also earned the Combat Infantry Badge, Cross of Gallantry from the Republic of Vietnam, and other badges, medals, and bars. After his tour in Vietnam, he trained officers preparing for deployment at Fort Benning in Georgia. His exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam is listed as a contributing cause on his certification of death.

“Dad would always tell me: ‘Never worry about getting credit for a successful outcome,’” his son Bob said. “‘As a leader, your responsibility is to those working with you to achieve it.’”

In a 2010 online interview for the Veterans History Project by the Library of Congress, Mr. Matje said he was “very proud” of his military service. “And I would do it all again,” he said.

Mr. Matje was inducted into the Army ROTC hall of fame at the University of Rhode Island in 2019 and honored by the Military Order of Foreign Wars in 2021. He was a local and regional leader for the Boy Scouts for more than 40 years, especially with Willistown Troop No. 78, and he enjoyed representing veterans at school events and civic celebrations.

He also directed youth programs for the YMCA, coached Little League baseball in Chester County for a decade, and volunteered for years as a physical education teacher’s aide in the Great Valley School District. “The lessons Mr. Matje taught me and countless other alums are invaluable ones upon which we will draw for a long time,” a former Troop 78 member said in an online tribute.

Mr. Matje was a lifetime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars and active with the Brandywine Conservancy and Radnor Hunt. He contributed to and supported the Endless Mountains War Memorial Museum in Sullivan County and turned down a promotion at work in 1999 that would have limited his volunteer work in the community.

“He wanted to be part of something big where he could make an impact,“ his son Bob said. “He taught us about the need to give back.”

Robert William Matje was born Nov. 10, 1939, in Philadelphia. His family lived in Plumsteadville and Warrington, and he graduated from Central Bucks High School in 1957.

He was a lineman on the high school football team, spent a defining college prep year at Valley Forge Military Academy, and earned a football scholarship from Rhode Island.

He made the dean’s list in college, was captain of the football team, and served as battalion commander and in other leadership roles in the school’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corp. He graduated in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army infantry.

He met Peggy Skender while she was studying in Germany, and he was stationed there. They married in 1966, settled in Malvern in 1969, and had sons Bob and Mark, and daughter Kristen.

Mr. Matje liked to hunt, go beagling for rabbits, and play doubles tennis with his wife. He supported all kinds of alumni groups and fundraising campaigns at Rhode Island and told his wife his epithet should be: “I love my family. I love my country. I love God.”

He worked from home for most of his career and doted on his children. His daughter said: “I can’t remember a single major life event that my dad was not at.” His son Mark said: “He was at every sporting event I played in at high school and college.”

Energetic and adventurous, Mr. Matje and his wife visited all seven continents. “Travel was our passion,” she said. “He was stoic, moral, and patriotic. We had an amazing life.”

In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Matje is survived by six grandchildren, a brother, and other relatives. A brother died earlier.

Services were held April 20. Interment is to be later at Arlington National Cemetery.

Donations in his name may be made to Friends of Willistown Boy Scouts Troop No. 78, Treasurer Brian Miller, 139 Lisa Dr., Paoli, Pa.; and Paoli Hospital, Main Line Health Development, 240 N. Radnor Chester Rd., Suite 340, Radnor, Pa. 19087.