Edward Mata Sr.; Lifelong Area Resident

Edward Castaneda Mata Sr., a retired heavy equipment operator, died at UCLA Medical Center on Monday after a sudden illness. He was 70.

He was born May 27, 1929, in Santa Paula and was a lifelong resident of Ventura County.

For 35 years, he worked for various employers as a member of Operating Engineer’s Local No. 12 before retiring in 1990.

He was also a member of Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Ventura.

Mata is survived by his wife of 51 years, Rubie Mata of Ventura; daughters Betty Corral of Monroe, Wash., Linda Paramo of Moorpark, and Patricia Mata of Santa Paula; a son, Edward Mata Jr. of Burbank; five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

The funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. today at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, with Father George Reynolds officiating. Burial will follow at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura.

Services are under the direction of the Ted Mayer Funeral Home in Ventura.

Finelly, Carol Jean, 76, of Moorpark, homemaker. Pierce Bros. Valley Oaks Mortuary, Westlake Village.

Foster, Edward T., 67, of Ventura, former electrician for Chevron Oil Co. Charles Carroll Funeral Home, Ventura.

Ventura County obituaries are compiled by Linda Herron. They are published free of charge as a public service to readers, based on information provided by mortuaries.