1948
Family obituary
Born in Stamford, Connecticut
Gary C. Matzner was born on October 2, 1948. He grew up in Connecticut before college and legal study brought him toward the career and family life he would build in South Florida.
The timeline
A timeline of Gary’s life.
A chronology of Gary's family life, legal career, congregational service, and work in Pinecrest, drawn from public records, professional biographies, and oral history.
1973
The Florida Bar · Family obituary
Begins his Florida legal career
After undergraduate study at the University of Connecticut and legal study at Temple University and the University of Miami, Gary was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1973.
1997–2002
SEC filing
Healthcare executive and advisor
Gary served as president of Nobel Health Services, a healthcare consulting company, and also led Oakridge Outpatient Center from 1999 to 2001. His work joined legal counsel with operating knowledge of healthcare organizations.
2002–2007
SEC filing
McDermott Will & Emery
Gary practiced as of counsel at McDermott Will & Emery while continuing to advise hospitals and other healthcare organizations on regulatory and corporate matters.
2002 onward
SEC filings
Independent corporate director
Gary joined the board of EZCORP as an independent director in 2002 and served on its Audit Committee, adding public-company governance to his professional record.
2007–2011
The Florida Bar
Akerman, then Zumpano Patricios & Winker
He joined Akerman Senterfitt’s Miami corporate practice as a shareholder in November 2007. In 2011, The Florida Bar recorded his move to Zumpano Patricios & Winker as senior counsel focused on medical regulatory, health-law, and corporate issues.
Final twelve years
KO Lawyers biography · Family obituary
The Dean of Health Law Attorneys
At KO Lawyers, Gary represented hospitals, managed-care companies, physician groups, surgery centers, and other healthcare organizations. The firm described him as the Dean of Health Law Attorneys.
2018–2020
Temple Judea · Community Newspapers
President of Temple Judea
Temple Judea of Coral Gables elected Gary to a two-year term beginning July 1, 2018. His presidency focused on organizational strength, community continuity, and modernizing the congregation’s internal operations.
July 20, 2024
Family obituary
Gary dies in Pinecrest
Gary died at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness. He was seventy-five. Pinecrest’s charter, Pinecrest Gardens, Temple Judea, and the park named for him remain part of the record he left behind.
1992–1993
Oral history, 2016
After the hurricane
Hurricane Andrew and the difficult recovery that followed sharpened residents’ concerns about police response, zoning, and the distance between the neighborhood and county government. Gary began studying how other communities had incorporated.
March 9, 1994
Village record · Oral history
The meeting in the living room
Gary and Veronica opened their home to the incorporation effort’s first organizing meeting. From that living room the campaign moved to school auditoriums — hundreds of residents at Pinecrest Elementary, then more than six hundred at Palmetto Middle School that September, with Gary and Evelyn Langlieb Greer making the case for self-government.
Sept. 19, 1995
Village Clerk milestones · Miami Herald
The vote
Pinecrest-area voters approved cityhood by 3,138 to 1,623. Reported turnout reached 46.4 percent. The campaign then moved from public advocacy to the legal work of establishing a municipal government.
1995–1996
Village Charter record
Chairman of the Charter Commission
On November 21, 1995, the County Commission appointed five residents to draft the new village’s charter, with Gary as its chairman. The commission delivered its draft that December; voters adopted it on March 12, 1996, making Pinecrest Miami-Dade County’s 29th municipality. The document opens with a Citizens’ Bill of Rights — public records, public notice, the right to be heard.
1997–2003
Herald archive · FCT records
Saving the Jungle
When Parrot Jungle prepared to leave its historic Red Road home, Gary served as president and founder of Preserve the Jungle Inc. The organization helped build support and raise funds for a public acquisition. The purchase closed December 17, 2002, and Pinecrest Gardens was dedicated the following March.
Nov. 3, 2004
Miami Herald · Pinecrest Tribune
Second mayor of Pinecrest
First mayor Evelyn Langlieb Greer administered the oath of office to Pinecrest’s second. Gary’s first act removed the five-dollar admission fee at Pinecrest Gardens. His term included the community center and library at the Gardens, park improvements, lighting, water infrastructure, a lower millage rate, and a record surplus.
June 3, 2016
Village of Pinecrest oral history
Gary and Veronica record Pinecrest’s founding history
In the Pinecrest Council Chamber, Gary and Veronica sat for a seventy-six-minute Village oral history covering Hurricane Andrew, the incorporation campaign, county negotiations, the charter, public services, and the preservation of Parrot Jungle.
2021–2024
Village park records
Gary C. Matzner Park
Pinecrest acquired and named the North Kendall Drive park site in 2021. Gary joined his family, former Mayor Greer, Village officials, and neighbors at the groundbreaking on July 12, 2024.