Dr. James Matchefts DDS

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 am Thursday, February 21, 2019 at the Resurrection Catholic Church in Eveleth with Fr. Michael Garry celebrating. A visitation will be held from 5-7 pm Wednesday with the recitation of the rosary at 6:30 p.m. at the Ziemer-Moeglein-Shatava Funeral Home in Gilbert and will continue one hour prior to mass at the church.  Military honors will be accorded by the Gilbert Color Guard. Inurnment will be in the Eveleth Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to The Marquette School Scholarship Fund in memory of Dr. James Matchefts, 311 3rd Street South, Virginia MN 55792. Dr. James Nicholas Matchefts, DDS, 82, of Eveleth died peacefully on Friday, February 1, 2019 at Essentia Health-Virginia. He was known by his friends as either “Jimmy,” or later in life, “Doc.” James Matchefts was born in Eveleth, MN on May 11, 1936, to Lena (nee Brascugli) and Joseph Matchefts. He was the youngest child in his family, and lived out his birth order with gusto. He was an all-season athlete, at a time when Eveleth athletics was in its prime. He attended Eveleth Jr. College, and then the University of Minnesota, where he earned the degree Doctor of Dental Science. He entered the Navy and served three years in active duty, followed by a long career as a Navy Reservist, from which he retired a Commander in 1996.  Dr. Matchefts practiced dentistry in California; Coquille, OR, Virginia, MN; and Fossano, Italy. James married Lenore E. Sexton in 1960. Together they raised three children, Angela, Nicholas and Marco. To them, James and Lenore provided a safe and stable home in which to grow, discover their strengths, develop interests, and from which to set forth in life. James loved many things. He loved hockey and golf, and coached the Mesabi Community College men’s hockey team under the leadership of Patrick Finnegan for many years. He enjoyed visiting the Eveleth Hockey Memorial and participating in the Eveleth Fourth of July Celebration. He loved the outdoors, especially fishing. He loved dentistry, enjoyed service to friends and community through dental practice, and continued to practice until late in life. He loved his children, family and friends. He loved his childhood Boston Terrier, having once commented that his most cherished memory was spending time in the woods with his dog. He loved the Italian lifestyle, and for two decades shared his time between Eveleth and Fossano, Italy. And he loved Eveleth. In retirement, he devoted his time to visiting his children and his friends. At the last, he wanted to live to the end of his life in his childhood home — a desire that was granted him by God’s grace. Dr Matchefts is preceded in death by his parents Joseph and Lena; his siblings JoAnne and John; and his cousins — he was the last in his generation. He is survived by his children: Angela (Christian) Hansen, Nicholas (Lori) Matchefts, and Marco (Tracey) Matchefts; four grandchildren: Nicholas, Matthew, Aryn, and Catelyn; his ex-wife Lenore; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.