MATKIN, Norman William

A Floridian who moved late in life from the warmth of Miami to chilly Nova Scotia to pursue his long interest in Buddhist philosophy, died in Dartmouth on December 22, 2020. He was a few days from his 87th birthday. Norm was born January 3, 1934 in Liverpool, England a son of Josephine (Medland) and Henry Norman Matkin. Norm moved to Alva, Fla. after the death of his father and his mother’s remarriage to George Jones, an American soldier. The year after the family arrived, Norm, at 13 years old, won the statewide champion spelling bee, an early example of his retentive memory. He graduated from Alva High School in 1951, earned a BS in political science from the University of Maryland in 1966 and an Mswfrom Barry University, and enlisted in the Air Force. Afterwards, he worked for some 30 years inmiami, as a psychiatric social worker, marriage and family therapist and an administrative financial officer with Dade County Department of Youth Services. Much of his free time was spent studying Buddhist philosophy, an interest he developed in the early 1970s after picking up a book called Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa, one of the first and most influential books on the Buddhist teachings in English. When Norm retired, he moved to Nova Scotia, where some hundreds of other American Buddhists had emigrated to form a community. There, he took his Buddhist studies to a new level, traveling to Nitartha Institute every summer for an intensive Buddhist philosophy and meditation course, and taking classes in advanced Buddhist studies at the Shambhala Centre. At both places, he was a stalwart volunteer who operated audio-visual equipment. A generally taciturn man, he was known to boom out a question or comment from behind the AV table - usually something penetrating enough to bring the discussion to a brief halt while the others pondered it. That was one example of his inquisitiveness. While Buddhist philosophy was by far his strongest interest - he bought many hundreds of books on the subject - he also spent time following global politics and finance, investigating both mainstream and obscure aspects of them in depth. Beneath his gruff exterior was a vibrant generosity - he donated to scholarships for the annual Buddhist summer retreat at Nitartha and often helped out friends when they were in need, turning away their thanks. He lived modestly in his Lawrencetown house, with his primary expenditures being fine dark chocolate and his vast collection of books on Buddhism. Norm was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Freda E. Moore; his brother, Henry W. "Hank" Jones; his brothers-inlaw, James L. Ritchey and J. Wayne Moore. Norm is survived by Shirley A. Ritchey, his sister of Sarasota, Fla.; his sister-in-law, Eulane B. Jones of Troy, Ala.; niece, the Honorable Judge Lisa Ritchey Craig (Michael); greatniece, Olivia Craig, of Atlanta, Ga.; Patrick Ritchey (Darby) of Sarasota; Leslie Horn ( Brad) great-niece and nephew, Shannon and Christopher of Melbourne, Fla.; Tammy Fears (Ron) and great- nephew, Shane of Melbourne, Fla.; Rhon Jones (Deanne); great-niece, Baker, and great-nephews, Will, Jack and Luke of Montgomery, Ala.; Beth Barnes (Corey); great- nieces, Taylor and Avery; great-nephew, Corey of Repton, Ala.; Jennifer Davis (Jason); great-nephew, Bill, and great-niece, Madison of Birmingham, Ala. Those wishing to make a gift in memory of Norm may consider a donation to one of his favorite charities: Nitartha Institute Scholarship Fund Nitarthainstitute.org/generosty/special-projects Halifax Shambhala Centre Halifax.shambhala.org (click "Make a Donation") Salvation Army Salvationarmy. ca/donations (memorial donation).