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Matson was born Dec. 12, 1939, in Baltimore, Md., and was the son of George W. Matson, Sr. and Margaret McCleary Matson. He graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and joined the U.S. Navy where he served on a submarine in Japan and Hawaii. Upon discharge, he moved to Harrisburg, Pa., and, in 1965, joined the Clairol division of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Company as a sales representative. He was the youngest division manager in the history of the Clairol Company. He was promoted to vice president of Marketing Services at the New York headquarters and, later, vice president-sales of Clairol Canada. After leaving Clairol, he joined Colgate-Palmolive as general manager—National Accounts. He retired from Colgate in 1995 and completed his professional career as the vice president-sales for Bari Cosmetics, an entrepreneurial venture owned by fellow Clairol employee, from 1995 to 2004.
After living for almost 20 years in New York City, he and his family moved to Darien in 1996.
Matson is survived by his wife, Jeanne; brother, Byron (Terri) Matson of Roseville, Calif.; children, Michael (Debbie) Matson, Elizabeth Matson Albritton, George (Rhonda) Matson III, Patrick (Emily) Matson, Christopher (Reid) Matson, Spencer Matson and Katherine Matson; five grandchildren; a great-grandchild; and four nieces and two nephews.
A celebration of George's life will be held Wednesday, July 30 at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, 155 East 22nd St., New York, N.Y.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in George Matson's name to: Darien EMS-Post 53, P.O. Box 2066, Darien, CT 06820.
For more information, please visit: www.lawrencefuneralhome.com/
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