Donald Richard Matthews' Obituary
Mr. Donald R. Matthews died on December 1, 2021 at the age of 84, after a five-year battle with bone cancer. He was born on June 19, 1937, in Muskegon, Michigan. Don was preceded in death by his father, Richard “Rip” Matthews, in 1950, at the age of 38, and his mother, Eleanor (Larsen) Matthews-Urshel, in 1974, at the age of 59. He is survived by his brother, Charles “Charlie” (Kay Cater-Matthews) Matthews, their children, Scott, Kathy, Cheryl, Jay and their ‘adopted’ exchange students, Annicari (Patrick) Fagerli and Hans Jorgan (Marita Dolores) Andersen; his sister, Mary (Michael) Sigman, their children, Susan Sigman and Charlie (Susan) Sigman and their children, Sarah and Andrew; his ‘double-cousin’, John (Patty) Matthews, who shares with Don and Chuck the same four grandparents; and many cousins, with their families. Don was married to Peggy Thomas-Tully for eleven years, and enjoyed his Thomas children immensely: Diane (Kurt) Thomas-Meinders and their children, Rachael (Jackson) Baartmens, Brandon, and Whitney; Mark (Mary) Thomas and their children, Kendra (Chad) Zichterman, David and James Thomas; his great-grandchildren, Riley Halverson, Brooklyn and Avery Zichterman. Don retired from GTE/Verizon after 43 years with the communication corporations in their Traffic Engineering Departments. He worked in Muskegon, Fort Wayne, IN, and Dallas (Los Colinas), TX. He loved to travel, visiting all 50 states and 32 countries; he especially loved visiting family in Norway and his high school exchange student friend, Lothar Kopp, in Germany. Don was active with Cub and Boy Scouts in Muskegon, in addition to serving as Scout Master of Troop 57 in Arlington, Texas, for ten years. He was a docent at the Forth Worth (Texas) Zoo for ten years, plus docent for two years at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, TX. He taught public basic boating classes as a 58-year member of the Muskegon Chapter of (America’s Boating Club), the United States Power Squadron. He was a 23-year volunteer for the Muskegon Civic Opera Association and active in the Sons of Norway and Vikings Lodge. Between 1954-55, Don served his country in the US Naval Reserves. As a volunteer he taught First Aid and CPR for the Red Cross in Fort Worth (Texas) for several years. He also earned an EMT license with the Texas Department of Health. While Don enjoyed playing golf, he said he was a ‘terrible player’. He also enjoyed water and snow skiing. Don loved languages (specifically Spanish, German, and Norwegian) and, while not fluent in any, enjoyed increasing his knowledge about all of them. Camping with family and Boy Scouts happened over many years. He was an officer of the Arlington, Texas, chapter of the nationals nonprofit “Rebuilding Together” for three years. Don will be dearly missed by his family and friends, as one who always displayed a cheerful spirit, always offered a helpful hand and rarely complained about life or adversity. We love you Don and will miss you. A MEMORIAL SERVICE will be held 11:00 AM Friday, May 20, 2022 at The Lee Chapel of Sytsema Funeral & Cremation Services, 6291 Harvey St., Norton Shores, MI 49444 with his cousin, Rev. John Matthews officiating. VISITATION will be one hour prior to his service. MEMORIALS in memory of Don may be directed to the Vikings Scholarship Fund or the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts of America. You may sign his online guestbook at www.sytsemafh.com
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