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"He never met a stranger," his obituary reads. "Every person in the world to him seemed to be just a new friend. He had a keen ability to bring out the best in others and always saw the good in them.
"Without hesitation he was always willing to give the shirt off his back to those who needed."
The world lost a friend on Wednesday, July 13, when 59-year-old Matamoros was crushed to death by a piece of machinery at his job in Port Newark.
A GoFundMe for Matamoros' family had raised more than $11,000 as of Monday, July 18.
Matamoros moved to the US from Nicaragua when he was in high school, and graduated from St. Patrick's High School. He went on to serve as a rifleman in the US Marines at Camp Lejeune, NC, and returned to New Jersey after being honorably discharged.
He met the "love of this life," Rose Marie Ortiz, and married her in 2020. The couple was "deeply in love and inseparable," Matamoros' obit says, and the two were making a life together in Roselle.
Nicknamed Popeye, he was an 8-year-veteran of the Port Authority ILA Local 1233, and a beloved member.
Matamoros was "a God-fearing man who was so proud of his family," his obit says. "He lived his life for his family and there was nothing he wouldn't do for them."
Matamoros' niece left a tribute on his Facebook wall saying "you were the best human I know. You embraced me and my kids and made us your family. You always said 'I work hard for my family, if they are happy then I am happy.'"
Click here to donate to his family.
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