Richard Matthies' Obituary
Richard Matthies passed away at KPC Promise Hospital of Dallas in the early morning hours on July 6th, 2020, in a cozy bed snuggled up with his favorite Texas Rangers blanket. “Dick” as his beloved wife, Thelma Jean Matthies, and all his friends and family adoringly called him was a generous, humorous and fun-hearted father, grandfather and great-grandfather to a family that cherished him and misses his gentle soul more and more each day. Dick brought laughter to so many people over his 92 years and he and Jean always opened their home to family, friends and even people they’d just met. Dick was born in Ilion, NY on August 11th, 1927. He spent his childhood in Woodbridge, CT and then was drafted into the United States Army during World War II in 1946. Dick received a Letter of Commendation from his time serving in the US Air Corps and then attended Southern Methodist University when he moved to Dallas, TX in 1947. Although he grew up in the Northeast, he always considered himself a Texan and was a proud supporter of all Texas teams, especially the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. He met his soul mate, Jean, when they were both working at Vinson Supply Company in August of 1957 and they were married by that Christmas. Over the course of their 62 year marriage they raised two children, made countless lifelong friendships particularly with members of their church and through the Methodist Youth Fellowship program, traveled all over the country, attended every single sporting event of their children and grandchildren even during hot Texas summers, and made lasting impressions on everyone that had the pleasure of getting to know him. Dick was a family man that taught his children and grandchildren lessons in love, hard work and taking pride in everything that you do. He fondly reminisced about raising his boys, Rick and Dudley, and all their times fishing and golfing at Holly Lake and taking family trips. Dick was a sports fanatic and a lover of the outdoors. He could always be found on the golf course or doing yardwork in his retirement years and even still enjoyed taking strolls on the trail outside of their home in his final years. He was quick with a smile, never met a stranger, was an active member within the Hope 4 Refugees organization, was a road trip warrior, dog lover, the best neighbor, was known to always have a “stogie” in his mouth and valued taking care of his family above all else. Dick was ready to fire off a joke or play a prank at all times and was smooth with the words. He was always first to speak up and share special memories of friends and family members and had an amazing way of lightening the mood in any room. A couple of Dick’s favorite places to visit were Las Vegas, NV, where he enjoyed visiting with dear friends and hitting the casino, Red River, NM where he and Jean took the family on annual skiing trips and Canada where Jean and him went to the Winter Olympics at the 1988 games in Calgary. Dick is survived by his wife, Jean, sons, Rick Matthies and wife Kim, and Dudley Matthies and wife Melissa. “Papaw” is survived by his grandchildren, Rick and wife Emily, Torey and wife Caroline, Tyler and wife Lesley, Nicki and husband Jeremy, Whitney, Hanna, Trevor, Amber and great-grandchildren Jaxon, Eden, Olivia, Mila, Charlie, Camille and Brielle. He is preceded in death by, parents, Max and Elise Matthies, his in-laws, W.A. and Beulah Thompson, his sister, Sydney and husband Dutch Meyer and his brother-in-law’s, Walter Lee Atkins and Coy Thompson.
Richard Matthies will be laid to rest at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Hope 4 Refugees (H4R) organization. Donations can either be mailed to Hope 4 Refugees at 1515 N. Town East Blvd., Suite 138-209, Mesquite, TX 75150 or through PayPal at https://tinyurl.com/hope4refugees.
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