Obituary of William Earl Matthews

William Earl Matthews went home to the loving arms of the Lord on January 14, 2014, at the age of 89. Known affectionately as “Wild Bill” to both friends and family, Bill had a zest for life and a desire to be of service to others. Throughout his life, he involved himself in his community and his church. Bill’s strong relationship with the Lord sustained him. He believed in living his faith and he did. His close-knit group of friends and his family can all say “Amen” to that. Bill was born in Houston, Texas on September 16, 1924. He spent most of his youth living in the East End in the family home on Polk Avenue. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School and attended the University of Houston. Wanting to follow in the footsteps of his beloved brother Ed, Bill joined the United States Army Air Corps and served during WWII. A huge hole was left in Bill’s heart after learning that Ed, a bomber pilot, had been shot down and lost over the China Sea. Leaving his life in the Air Corps, Bill then began a long career in the oil and gas business in Houston. Originally a Landman, Bill had many funny stories to tell about crossing the state, meeting some very colorful wildcatters as the oil boom made its mark in Texas. He had a 39-year career in the business, most of those years at Gulf Oil and the later years at Enron. He inspired loyalty and devotion from both his superiors and his co-workers. Bill believed in living each day to the fullest. He loved challenges; from early years of playing football, eventually learning to slalom water-ski, to playing golf, and even sky diving and flying as a co-pilot in a bi-plane in his later years, Bill wanted to do it all. And he had fun doing it! This is who he was. Loving the game of golf, Bill and his cart traveled many miles over the years—sometimes from rough to rough, but once to pick up his ball on hole number 5 after scoring a hole in one, witnessed by son-in-law Rich and grandson Josh! Always wanting to feel what it was like to fly as his brother had, Bill decided that if “41”, President George H. W. Bush, could sky dive at 80, so could he. He did. His daughters, Judy and Joan, knew their father still wanted that experience of flying an airplane. They made that wish come true with a Christmas gift to fly in an old bi-plane. And he did. There was not one day in his life that he did not want to be doing something. Even as his pain from cancer was getting so much worse, Bill insisted on pushing through each day productively, even repainting the deck a mere three weeks before his passing. He loved living life and he inspired that in others. His most cherished times were spent in Country Place. There he made life-long friends and most importantly, met and married his “angel”, Donna Green. Throughout their married years, they widened their group of friends, traveled, engaged in a wide range of activities and community service at Country Place and in their church, and they shared a passion for playing the organ. Theirs is a special love story, evident to all who knew and loved them. In passing from this earthly life to the next, Bill joins his mother, Mildred Eunice Gilpin, his father Edwin “Coll” Matthews, his brother Ed, and his life-long and best friend, Jake “Buddy Traylor. His wife Donna and her family, daughter Jan and her husband Colin McLeod and their children Ian McLeod and wife Kelli and Camille McLeod; daughter Karen and her husband John Schauer and their sons Paul Schauer and Karl Schauer and his wife Steffi; and son Bill Green and his wife Donna, survive him. Also surviving him are his two children, Judith Ann Adams, her husband Larry, and Joan Matthews Jennings, her husband Richard and grandchildren Christopher Canales, his wife Kat, Aaron Adams, Andrea Eyring, her husband Matthew, and Joshua Jennings and his wife Nataly. Sloane Avery Eyring, Bill’s great-granddaughter, also survives him. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made either to First United Methodist Church of Pearland, 2314 N. Grand Blvd., Pearland, TX, 77581 or VITAS Hospice of Houston, 3130 Eastside, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77098 (www.vitascommunityconnection.org). Please indicate that donations are in the memory of William Earl Matthews. A celebration of Bill’s life will be held on January 20, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Pearland.