Richard Martell Matthews, SR

Richard Martell Matthews, SR, 101, of Universal City, Texas, passed away at home on December 16, 2020. Mr. Matthews was born in 1919 in Agate, Colorado. In 1947, Mr. Matthews married Mildred Reed of Chicago, Illinois. They were married for 67 years at the time of Mrs. Matthews' death in 2015. He graduated from Deer Trail High School, Deer Trail, Colorado, in 1937. He then went to work for the War Department, Washington, D.C., in 1940. In 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force. He served as a B-17 ball-turret gunner, 15 th Air Force, Foggia, Italy from 1944 until the war's end in May 1945. He flew 23 combat missions, including missions to Berlin, Germany. After World War II, he attended the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, and graduated with a B.S. Civil Engineering in 1951. After graduation, he went to work for the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), Department of Agriculture. At the time of his retirement in 1980, he was head of major project design for the western U.S. for the SCS. Mr. Matthews is survived by his children - Richard M. Matthews, JR., Roberta J. Edwards, and Elizabeth J. Hobbs; his grandchildren - Richard M. Matthews III, Shannon R. Matthews, David R. Edwards, Michael J. Edwards, Jolene E. Hobbs, and Kaylee A. Hobbs; and great-grandchildren - Caitlin R. Matthews, Kaleah R. Matthews, Evaleigh D. Matthews, and Richard M. Matthews IV. Sadly, Mr. Matthews was proceeded in death by his son, Robert M. Matthews. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews will have a dual military funeral service and they will be interred side by side at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the San Antonio Food Bank, safoodbank.org/donate/.