Oct. 28, 1959 – Jan. 13, 2017

Matthew Joseph Schmalen, 57, of La Crescenta, passed away Jan. 13. He was born in Hollywood, California to Henry & Shirley Schmalen and was a resident of the Glendale and La Crescenta areas his entire life.

During high school, Matthew was a member of the a cappella choir and worked several jobs, including summers on Catalina Island in the kitchen of Camp Fox.

Matthew received an honorable discharge from the Air Force, then worked several jobs while he attended Glendale Community College and received his AA degree in graphic design. He went on to work for McDonnell Douglas (later Boeing) as a technical illustrator for more than 10 years and worked on the C-17 aircraft. In addition, he worked for nearly 15 years as a display manager for Wholesale Plumbing.

Matthew was a man of great faith. He grew up attending Holy Family Catholic Church and was a parishioner of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church for more than 25 years. He was a very loving, generous and devoted man to his family and friends. He enjoyed many years of camping, baking, woodworking and all things Halloween.

Matthew was preceded in death by his mother, Shirley Schmalen. Matthew is survived by his father Henry; wife Aprile; son Nicholas; daughters Natalie, Laura and her husband Robert; granddaughters Rachel & Isabel; siblings Hank, Tom, Gwen, Mary, Dan and Andy; many nieces and nephews as well as friends considered family.

A funeral mass will be held at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 2411 Montrose Ave. in Montrose on Jan. 28 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society.