And life goes on...

My father passed away this afternoon. He'd been living with Alzheimer's Disease for several years now, and I was holding his hand when he passed. I am so thankful that he is out of pain and not hurting anymore. Since his surgery in April his health had really declined. He'd been living at St. Rita's here in town since late May. His 80th birthday was September 11th.

He was a US Navy veteran with almost 34 years active duty. My sister Donna and I are meeting tomorrow with Golden's to arrange the services... probably on Monday. My brother Steve is flying in tomorrow from Georgia and my sister Yvonne is going to try to fly in from Texas - my niece Hailey is not quite 2 months old. Our mother is buried at Willamette National cemetery in Portland so Dad will be buried with her.

The DOC has been wonderful, even with my starting a new job in Accounting yesterday... when it rains it pours. The following was his obituary...


Donald B. Mathews Sr.
September 11, 1923 - October 02, 2003
SALEM - Donald Bayne Mathews, Sr. (CWO4 USN retired) died from complications of Alzheimer's Disease. He was born in San Francisco, California, he recently celebrated his 80th birthday. Donald loved his family, the US Navy and his Atlanta Braves.

Donald was the son of Victor Ambro and Florence Althea Mathews of Salem and grandson of John Bayne, a Salem-area attorney and trustee who emigrated from Muthill, Perthshire, Scotland in 1871. Donald joined the Navy at 17 and served his country from 1940 to 1974. Nicknamed "Gunner", he was aboard the USS Lexington (CV-2) when it sank during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Donald was the sole survivor when his Grumman "Wildcat" went down at sea later during WWII. He was with aviation ordinance during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He served on several ships, including the USS Lexington, USS Forrestal, USS America, and USS Coral Sea, and received numerous awards and medals during his service.

Donald was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy Fullilove Mathews in 1992. Survivors include daughters, Donna Lynn Hayes of Salem and Yvonne Faith Stainback of Tyler, Texas; and sons, Donald B. Mathews Jr. of Salem and Steven Wayne Mathews of Waynesboro, Georgia; sisters, Polly George of Landing, New Jersey and Mary; brother, John A. Mathews of Salem; four granddaughters and two grandsons in New York, North Carolina, Georgia and Texas.

Visitation will be from 10 am - 5 pm on Sunday, October 5th at Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service. Family graveside services will be held at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.

Earlier this week, an unknown young man, just back from Iraq, visited with our father. This young man wanted to talk to a veteran and thank him for what he had done for our country. Whoever you are, our family thanks you so very much for this beautiful act of kindness. The family would like to thank the staff of St. Rita's Senior Care Community in Salem for their wonderful care and incredible support of our father.