Less than three years after the broadly publicized drowning death of her 6-year-old daughter Roxie at an Altadena summer camp, Meow Meow Foundation principal Elena Matyas died at her Pasadena residence one week ago.
Matyas, 50, received a cancer diagnosis within a year of her daughter’s drowning at Summerkids, a children’s camp in Altadena.
“She never recovered,” said Doug Forbes, her husband and Meow Meow Foundation president. He said his wife was overwhelmed by the event and its aftermath.
“Understandably, Elena couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat right and suffered from constant, profound grief. Disney’s recent actions only exacerbated that existing pain. Her immune system eventually suffered and cancer preyed upon her. My two glorious loves are gone and my life as I knew it has officially ended.”
Forbes said he believes that The Walt Disney Company has been using the Summerkids location to film a streaming series about children at a camp, despite Roxie’s drowning there and the fact that Matyas was a veteran Disney attorney.
Forbes said he will continue to honor Matyas and his daughter by working even harder to pass state and federal legislation that protects millions of children at thousands of camps and aquatics environments.
He is scheduled to testify in early April at the state capitol on behalf of his camp safety bill AB 1737 (Holden). Forbes said he will keep that promise to honor his wife and daughter.
After two years of nonstop advocacy, Forbes also persuaded the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to pass his regionalized camp safety and drowning prevention measures last June. The sweeping, child-focused initiatives will be formalized in county code by this summer.
Forbes said he had been administering round-the-clock care for Matyas since December. She was admitted to Huntington Hospital a day after what would have been Roxie’s ninth birthday and returned two more times before eventually dying at home while the couple held hands and exchanged a final “I love you.”
Matyas and Forbes audio-recorded her final wishes, which included both “justice for Roxie” and “always remind my family, friends and community how much I loved them.”
For more information, go to www.meowmeowfoundation.org.
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One thought on “Elena Matyas, Mother of Local 6-Year-Old Drowning Victim and Co-Founder of Camp Safety Advocacy Nonprofit, Dies at 50”
My heart breaks for Doug Forbes! I can’t even imagine the pain of losing a child and then your spouse. The loss is overwhelming. As a mom myself, I don’t know how I would have gotten on with my life without my child-turning a tragedy into triumph with advocacy work seems to yield the most satisfaction and the best results. I know having advocated for legislation around the country after my dad passed away and changing laws protecting the disabled and elderly from abusive Conservatorships in their final years of life. If there is anything I can do to help Doug with his advocacy work-I would love to do so. May you find peace and love through this most painful time in your life.