Matthew (Matt) Aloysius Malison, of Madrid, Spain died peacefully on Saturday, May 23 in Madrid surrounded by his loving family. He was 82. He is survived by his wife, Tania Malison, his sister Claire Michalowski of Southern Pines, North Carolina, by his children, Alexander Malison of Washington DC, Andrew Maliszewski of Atlanta , Marina Malison and Ann Malison of Madrid, and 11 grandchildren.

Matt was predeceased by his parents, Matthew Aloysius Maliszewski and Wanda (Peggy) Maliszewski and 2 sisters, Marilyn Wood and Lorraine Barney.

A native of South River, NJ, Matt attended South River High School and earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1954. Matt then enlisted in the US Navy and served for 3 years as an intelligence officer in Rabat, Morocco. He married Tatiana Ariane Maslenikoff, “Tania” on August 2, 1958 in Tangiers, Morocco and, after two years with the State Department stationed in Dakar Senegal, he and family moved to Madrid in 1963 where he represented Maytag until 1968 and opened the first coin operated, self service laundromat, LavaSeca, in the city. In 1969, Matt and Tania established the first Russian restaurant in Spain, “El Cosaco”, running it to great acclaim for 35 years until 2004. “El Cosaco”, remains to this day one of the best known romantic restaurants in Madrid.

Matt will be remembered for his dedication to family and friends, his generosity, and his great sense of humor. He loved the finer things in life, especially good music, never missing the regular Sunday performances for season ticket holders at the “Auditorio Nacional de la Musica” concert hall in Madrid.

A memorial service in Matt’s honor will be held Saturday October 10, 2015 at 11am at Saint Mary of Ostrabrama Cemetery East Brunswick. Condolences may be sent c/o Claire Michalowski at cmichal735@gmail.com or to Tania Malison at dinaoo19@gmail.com.