Myrtle Tschinkel

Waynesville, NC-Myrtle Salmon Matus Tschinkel, age 77, of 87 Willow Road, died Saturday, June 7, 2003 at her residence.

A native of Gaffney, SC, she was the daughter of the late Martin B. and Manie Ruppe Salmon. She was also preceded in death by her first husband, Theodore Patrick Matus, who died in 1980; and a sister, Louise Gettys. She graduated from Gaffney, S.C. High School in 1942 and later attended Limestone College in Gaffney. She was a member of the staff at Western Carolina University for 24 years and worked in several key offices at the university. She began at WCU in 1963 and immediately assisted in the preparation of the Institutional Self-Study for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools before spending four years in the Office of Admissions before moving to the Office of Public Information. Over the next 21 years, she was a key member of the Public Information Staff as a communications specialist. She wrote and edited the faculty/staff newsletter, managed budgets, and served as administrative assistant and office manager. She retired from Western in November of 1987. In 1980, she was selected the Educational Person of the Year for Western Carolina University and District 1 of the NC Association of Educational Office Personnel. She served as hostess for the WCU alumni tour group traveling in Europe in 1983. Active in many university and community organizations, she was treasurer of the charter chapter of the Public Relations Association of Western North Carolina in 1985, and she was president of the Jackson County Business and Professional Women's Club in 1987. She was involved in the Newcomers Club, the Faculty Club, and a longtime booster of Western Carolina. Before joining the staff at Western, she worked as an office manager for an apparel manufacturer in Charlotte, in payroll and records at Lowenstein's Limestone Manufacturing Plant, and as a staff member with the School of Nursing at Spartanburg General Hospital. She was an advisor to Delta Zeta Sorority at Western Carolina University. She loved to travel and work on crosswords and attended Long's Chapel United Methodist Church.

She is survived by her husband of thirteen years, John Tschinkel; two daughters, Paula Brandt, and her husband, Jeff, and Marilyn Matus; two stepdaughters, Cheryl Higgins, and her husband, Scott, and Donna Myers and her husband, John; a son, T. Patrick Matus, and his wife, Linda; three stepsons, Tim Tschinkel and his wife, Egle, Jim Tschinkel and his wife, Christine, and John Tschinkel, and his wife, Sherri; one sister, Elizabeth ''Lib'' Hunter; seven grandchildren, Jennifer, Suzanne, and Nick Matus, Leslie and Matus Ferguson and Jessie and Katie Brandt; and five step grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, 2003 at Fredrick Memorial Gardens with Reverend Robert E. Fuquay, Jr. officiating. Entombment will follow. Honorary pallbearers will be Miles and Henry Gettys, Staten Wilcox, Jim McMillan, and Wilbur Salmon.

A memorial service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, 2003 at Long's Chapel United Methodist Church at Lake Junaluska, NC with Reverend Robert E. Fuquay, Jr. officiating. The family will receive friends immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Long's Chapel United Methodist Church Music and Worship, P.O. Box 459, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745 or Hospice of Haywood County, 262 Leroy George Drive, Clyde, NC 28721.

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