Mr. William Kenneth Matthews' Obituary
William Kenneth Matthews was born on March 25, 1938 in Leavenworth, KS and went to be with the Lord on August 21, 2012 in Houston, TX after a courageous battle with cancer. Ken was devoted to the Almighty, his family and friends, and the Boy Scouts of America. He spent much of his youth in Flippin, AR where he was a star athlete in basketball, baseball, and track and field. He graduated from Flippin High School in 1956 and attended Arkansas Tech where he played college basketball. He attended the University of Texas and was in the National Guard, and graduated in 1962 with a degree in engineering through computers. For much of his life he was a sportsman, and was more apt to play a game of basketball or racquetball rather than standing on the sidelines as a spectator. There was seldom a moment when he was unhappy, and those that had been close to him always remembered his smiling face, his charm, and his wit. He was part of the Church of the Redeemer for many years, and often spoke about how happy those years truly were for his family and himself. In the Redeemer Community there was a ranch owned by the Farrah household in the Texas hill country. As the family rode on horseback through the countryside, Ken pointed out live oaks and junipers, and taught his children to beware the poison ivy and poison oak. The hill country was notorious for rapid changes in weather, and indeed no one could tell when the sky would crack open and pour down with rain. There was a song that the family sang, "Rain, rain fall on me, rain, rain set me free, rain, rain my father sent the precious Holy Spirit." He worked for Exxon for 30 years, and retired in 1995. He kept his computer certifications updated and was a contract employee with Unisys until 2011. In much of his spare time Ken was an outdoorsman, and spent 28 years working with the Boy Scouts of America. In addition he was an active member of West University Baptist Church, who loved singing in the choir. He was also a proud supporter of Concerned Women for America. Camping trips, power naps, and meals were three things that were Ken's forte. The best times that he had were when he could do these things simultaneously. Some of those early days in his camping career were recounted by his friend, Don, of so many years. "Back in those days there were just six boys, and we were out there at Camp Strake, near Conroe, in the month of December." It was a cold, crisp weekend, not too far from Christmas, and the weather had turned cold. Everyone warmed their bones around the fire, and had foil packages of Jiffy Pop, and popped the popcorn over open flames, shortly followed by smores. "It was always something," said Don, "to have known a good man that spent his time thinking around the campfire for so many years. You really get to know a person very well when you've been doing it for twenty years or so." There were hikes with the scouts, and the famed song, "Quartermaster Store" that the boys would sing on their walks in the woods. There was always the Sunday morning service on those weekends, and the choir of boys would sing Kumbaya and other campfire songs. One of Ken's first roles as a scout was the Chaplain, and he would perform sermons about God's creation, and the sheer beauty of the earth that he so greatly enjoyed. His family, his scouts, his choir, and his friends will miss him dearly, but if people knew nothing else about him, they all knew his love and his goodness. Ken is preceded in death by his parents, William Tarpley Matthews and Mattie Velta Pittman, brother, David Jerome Matthews, and brother-in-law, Curtis Ellington Eaton. He is survived by his wife, Marian Knapp Matthews, his children Adriane Heffelfinger-Evans (Monte), Lauren Lusk (Frank), Blake Matthews, all of Houston, and Greg Matthews of San Marcos, TX; grandchildren Madeline, Matthew, and Andrew Heffelfinger; Dylan and Brenden Lusk, all of Houston; sister, Margie Eaton of Gulfport, MS; nieces, Lesa Dixon Styles, Lisa Matthews, Kim Matthews Stickley, Joni Matthews Davies, Debbi Eaton, Diane Eaton Butterfield, and other great nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his stepson Bruce E. Oliver (Caroline) of Austin and Melanie Oliver Darden (Brent) of Dallas; step-grandchildren, Amy and Benjamin Oliver, and Chase and Cody Darden. Pallbearers will be Bruce Oliver, Brent Darden, the Honourable Don Smyth, Thomas Jowell, Dick Wall, and Lenny Radianoff, and services will be officiated by Dr. Roger Patterson, pastor at West University Baptist Church. The family will receive friends from 5:30-8 pm on Friday, August 24 at South Park Funeral Home, 1310 North Main, Pearland, TX 77581, and again on Saturday, August 25, at West University Baptist Church, 6218 Auden Street, Houston, TX 77005. The service will be held immediately afterwards, and interment will follow at SouthPark Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made on Ken's behalf to the Boy Scouts of America or to the American Cancer Society.
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