Anita Mattson

Anita Mattson, age 75, of Abingdon, Maryland, passed away on January 3, 2025, at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air, Maryland. 

Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Anita was the daughter of the late John and Anne (Raisner) Mattson. Anita is survived by her son, Richard Cucchiara, and his girlfriend Sherri Frazier, sister-in-law, Dixie Mattson, nephew, Chris Mattson, and niece, Lois Anderson. In addition to her parents, Anita was preceded in death by her brother, Ronald Mattson, and her nephew, Eric Mattson.

Anita was raised in Bayonne, where she had gone to grammar school and high school. Anita's career took her to Manhattan, New York City, where she worked for the Federal Reserve Bank after graduating from Bayonne High School. After leaving the Federal Reserve Bank to start a family and spending approximately 10 years as a housewife and raising her son, during which time she modeled part time for Barbizon, she returned to Manhattan, working at several money brokerage houses downtown, and then at Banker's Trust, in upper midtown Manhattan, during the 1980s. She was beautiful on the outside and even moreso on the inside. 

In her personal life, Anita enjoyed a variety of simple pleasures. She found comfort in relaxing and watching movies, as well as watching religious television, and listening to 80's music at times to help her to be in good spirits. Anita loved the snow, had a fondness for ice skating, and took solace in praying the rosary. She looked forward to the visits from her son at her house and the rehabilitation center. She enjoyed her son taking her shopping and to her medical appointments almost every other Friday. Just being together, talking, and eating a fast food meal together was enough for them, making those days very special. Anita enjoyed talking on the phone with friends and family members. Anita loved animals, was a vegetarian, and enjoyed spending time with her cats. Despite being afflicted with schizoaffective disorder and the pain from arthritis and joint problems, Anita would always make sure to feed the outdoor animals near her house in addition to her cats. Her love and kindness extended to animals, and even insects, of all kinds, and she was known for her compassion and generosity toward all living things, including the people around her. 

Above all, Anita treasured time spent with her son. Anita and her son were best friends, and Anita cherished the numerous daily phone conversations they would have, talking for hours each day and night, simply enjoying each other's company. Anita was the most gentle, forgiving, kind, innocent, selfless, sentimental, sympathetic, young-at-heart, sweetest person you could ever meet. She was always open-minded and never judgemental. She was not materialistic and always knew the value of being humble. She was above all that. She was driven by love, not by obligation. Her son said, "There was no one who would have done as much for me as my mother did, and I would have done the same for her. No matter what her afflictions or the circumstances were, she would have gone to the other side of the earth to help me, and I would have done the same for her. That is true love."

Anita will be deeply missed by her family and friends for her pureness, gentle nature, loving heart, and the joy she brought into the lives of those around her.

Donations can be made in Anita's name to the Bloomfield Animal Shelter in Bloomfield, New Jersey or to the Humane Society of Harford County, Maryland.

                                                                                     Eulogy for Mom

Anita's son, Richard, asked me to read this eulogy he prepared for his mom because he would be too emotional to read it.

Anita Mattson was born on May 20th, 1949, in Bayonne, New Jersey, where she was raised by her parents. Anita went to grammar school and high school in Bayonne and graduated from Bayonne High School in 1966. After high school, Anita worked drafting treasury bills in the Federal Reserve Bank in Manhattan, where she met her husband, who she married in November of 1970. After leaving the Federal Reserve Bank to start a family, Anita's only child, her son, Richard, was born in 1972. Anita spent the rest of the 1970's as a housewife, raising her son in New Jersey, during which time she modeled part time for Barbizon.

Anita, her husband, and son lived in New Jersey until about 1980, when they moved to Massachusetts due to her husband relocating there for work. Anita would live there for about 1 year before returning to live in NJ, returning to work in Manhattan, and starting a new life. When Anita re-entered the work force, she worked as an executive receptionist at several money brokerage firms in downtown Manhattan, on and in the vicinity of Wall Street, and then at Banker's Trust, in upper midtown Manhattan on Park Avenue, during the 1980s. She traveled to New York City everyday and would take her son to work at times, and that was very special to both of them.

Anita developed schizoaffective disorder in approximately 1986 and was afflicted with that for the second half of her life, causing her to leave the workforce. Anita's son returned to live with her shortly after that in 1988, and they would stand by each other's side for the rest of her life. Anita's mother passed in 1990, and as Anita battled her disorder in the early 90's, her focus became spending time with her father and caring for him. After Anita's father passed in 1997, Anita and her son moved from Bayonne, New Jersey to Aberdeen, Maryland in 1998 to start a new life.

Anita loved her little house in Aberdeen on Valley Road. When her son moved to his new home in Abingdon in 2010, Anita got her two cats, Buddy and Nighty. Anita and her son would talk on the phone mulitiple times a day and spend time together on the weekends. As Anita developed arthritis and it progressed, they would develop a closer bond, as he took her to her appointments and they did all their shopping together.

On New Year's Day 2018, Anita became hospitalized due to aspiration and was on life support for 2 weeks as a result. The doctors indicated she was not likely to survive, but somehow she pulled through. In the 7 years of Anita's life which followed, Anita was in and out of hospitals and rehabilitation centers and also lived at her son's house where he cared for her for 6 months. She would require round the clock care during those years. Anita would never become strong enough to leave the last rehabilitation center where she lived for almost 6 years, and while she was there, she suffered a second aspiration in November 2024. Anita was hospitalized on life support for almost 7 weeks this time. Anita endured great suffering during that time, and on Friday, January 3rd, 2025, at 1:15 pm, Richard and his girlfriend Sherri sat by Anita's bedside holding her hands, as she passed, 7 years to the day after they thought she would not survive the first aspiration.

Anita was an amazing and beautiful human being and she will be missed deeply by her family and friends for her pureness, gentle nature, loving heart, and the joy she brought into the lives of those around her.

Anita was kind and compassionate to all those around her. Her love and kindness extended to animals, and even insects, of all kinds, and she was known for her compassion and generosity toward all living things. Anita would always make sure to feed the outdoor animals near her house daily, saying, "They need food too, especially in the winter." She felt bad for the snow leopards and the animals left out in the cold in the TV commercials and felt compelled to donate to animal organizations and other charities. When Anita and her son would go to the golf range where she would make videos of him, bringing dog biscuits to the dog there was a necessity for her.

Anita's selflessness showed toward people. She always tried to be her son's biggest defender. Anita would spend hours on the phone with friends, even when she didn't feel well, just because she knew they wanted company. Anita was so easy to get along with, and she always would make you feel welcome in her home, willing to give you the shirt off her back to help you. She never judged the poor and always had compassion for the sick and was forgiving of those who caused trouble in her life.

Anita had a sweetness and innocence about her. When Anita was a child and her father would put the Christmas tree out for the garbage, she would drag it back into the alley because she felt bad getting rid of it. After her Ford Escort was no longer in service, Anita and her son kept it under a cover until further notice since it was her father's and served them well. Anita felt compelled to hold on to certain items that held sentimental value to her and brought back memories. When her son took care of her cats, she would say, "Tell them Mommy loves them, and say the word "Mommy" because they know what that means." When in the rehabilitation center, she gave all her stuffed animals names and personalities, performing puppet shows, giving them a voice. She had a very unique emotional sensitivity in her.

Anita always remained a Christian. Anita took solace in praying the rosary. Her religion was very important to her and she always prayed to Jesus and the Blessed Mother, viewing them as an example to us all. She spoke about Mary regularly and continuously wore the miraculous medal, wanting others to wear it also so they would be protected. The Bible was very important to Anita and she kept it right by her side in the rehabilitation center.

Anita had a great sense of humor. She would be ready to laugh at something comical and made many jokes of her own. Anita and her son would imitate certain lines of movies they found funny together. Anita could also laugh at things about herself since she never took herself too seriously and had a great deal of humility, which was another great quality of hers.

Despite her sweetness and sensitivity, Anita was tough and remained strong. When Anita was determined to do something, she did it, and when it involved her doing something for someone she loved, that is when she was the most determined.

Anita enjoyed a variety of simple pleasures. She had a fondness for ice skating, dancing, and playing the piano, and did so when she could in her earlier years. She took dance lessons and came in first place in her one dance competition, dancing with her dance instructor to the song Borderline by Madonna. She was a lady, with style, manners, class, and grace. Anita loved the snow and the quiet of winter. She loved quaint places and she loved the ocean. Although Anita didn't like social activities much and preferred peaceful time alone with those who were close to her, she was very friendly and had an adventurous nature, enjoying when winter storms were on their way or when she and her son would go on a long drive. She found comfort in relaxing and watching movies as well as religious television, namely EWTN and Mother Angelica, and listening to 80's music to help her be in good spirits. She liked watching action movies and listening to energetic and inspirational music from artists like Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Prince, and the Rocky IV Soundtrack. She also liked cute, innocent movies but was also interested in shows about ghosts, except when they got too scary. On her quieter and romantic side, she loved the music and dancing from the movie West Side Story and slower music from artists like the Alan Parson's Project. In the 70's and 80's, Anita listened to the love songs of Melissa Manchester, Judy Collins, and Carly Simon. And more recently, Anita loved to listen to the song "Live to Tell" by Madonna over and over since she loved it so much. When Anita liked something, she stuck with it, and watched the same movies and listened to the same songs, over and over again.

Above all, Anita treasured time spent with her son. Anita and her son were best friends. She was her son's biggest fan and supporter of his accomplishments throughout the years, always helping him in any way she could, even if it was just through taking time to listen to him. In the last few years of her life, as she was in the rehabilitation center, she came up with a name that her and her son would call each other to the end, and that name was Pal. She said your father calls you Buddy and that is special between the two of you, so I'll call you Pal. She would tell her son she was so proud of him when he visited her in the rehabilitation center, and he responded with, "I am so proud of you too Mom", and he was.

Despite the difficulties Anita had in her life, Anita was the most devoted, easygoing, gentle, forgiving, innocent, selfless, and sympathetic person you could ever meet. She was always open-minded and never judgemental. She was not materialistic and always knew the value of being humble. She was above all that. She was driven by love, not by obligation. Her son said, "There was no one who would have done as much for me as my mother did, and I would have done the same for her. No matter what her afflictions or the circumstances were, she would have gone to the other side of the earth to help me and I would have done the same for her. That is true love."

In closing today, Anita's son would like for me to say these additional words to show his honor and appreciation of his mother: "I have been so lucky to have you for a mother. Thank you for everything you have done for me and your unconditional love. You took such good care of me in my younger years, you taught me so much, and you were the biggest fan of everything I've done in music. I appreciate all the special things you bought me from the heart when you didn't have a lot and the things you did for me even though you were tired and had been through so much. Thank you for always making the sacrifice for me without me even asking you to do it. When I asked you for advice, you always gave me honest, non-judgemental, gentle feedback. I enjoyed feeding you when you couldn't feed yourself. I enjoyed letting you know it was going to snow so someone could open your blinds in the rehabilition center so you could watch it. The reason I did those things for you is because I love you Mom and I always will, and I know you feel the same way about me. When I look at you, I see myself, in the way I look, but even moreso in who I am. I thank you for giving me that very special gift of being just like you. We recognized special dates, like birthdays of loved ones who had passed, giving them honor and remembrance. Well now the honor is yours Mom, and I will be honoring you for the rest of my life. I don't know where I am going from here, but I will never forget you, and whatever I do, I will use everything in my power to sing your praises.

As I am learning to live with this, I feel our souls are together in a different way than before, held together by strong love that even death cannot stop. Although one of the sweetest souls has passed, nothing could stop my love for you, and as I feel your soul around me, I know nothing could stop a love like yours for me either. You have been so empathetic and caring and said you'd never want me to go through this type of grief over you. We always said we wouldn't know how we'd go on without each other if one passed before the other and we hoped this day would never come. I am only glad I was the one left behind so you would not have to endure that hardship here on earth, especially in your physical condition. I want to bear that burden for both of us, and that is one more way for me to say thank you for everything you've done for me. There is so much more I wanted you to enjoy and so much more I wanted to do with you in this world, and I'm hoping we will be together someday. I always knew you deserved better than what you encountered in your life, and I feel you are in a much better place now. I love you Mom and I'll never forget you. Love and goodness conquer all. Our souls will always be together Pal."