Fred L. Mathews

Dr. Fred L. Mathews, age 87, of Dowagiac, MI passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 19, 2017 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph, MI. A Celebration of Life will be held at 10:30 A.M. Wednesday, March 22, 2017, at Calvary Bible Church, 27032 Marcellus Hwy, Dowagiac, with Pastor Stacey Wilder officiating. Interment will immediately follow at Riverside Cemetery. Friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, from 4:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. at Clark Chapel & Cremation Services, 405 Center Street, Dowagiac, MI. Memorial contributions in Fred’s honor may be made to the Dr. Fred and Thelda Mathews Endowment Fund at Southwestern Michigan College. Those wishing to leave an online condolence may do so at www.clarkch.com. Dr. Mathews was born in Johannesburg, MI on March 28, 1929 to James W. and Lena L. (McCoy) Mathews. An aunt delivered him and four siblings. At 17, Dr. Mathews dropped out of high school and joined the Army to qualify for G.I. Bill educational benefits which would be his passport from poverty. He arrived in Dowagiac Feb. 1, 1952, with $40 to his name.  Dr. Mathews married the love of his life, Lethelda J. Livingston on June 28, 1953 in New Albany, IN.  Dr. Mathews was a well-loved optometrist in Dowagiac who was a pioneer in his field, from fitting contact lenses to glaucoma detection. Dr. Mathews had a hand in starting Community State Bank in 1961 which is now Huntington Bank; was treasurer of the Dowagiac Queen Committee & organized Head Start Tri-County vision screening. Dr. Mathews was a member of the Dowagiac Rotary Club where he received the Paul Harris Fellow Award and chaired the committee which built Rotary Villa senior housing in 1987; and was a member of the Dowagiac Elks Club.  He was involved in the 1953, 1974 and 2007 campaigns to improve Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital and co-chaired the special gifts committee which raised $1.5 million to rebuild the emergency department.  He served on the Cass County Planning and Economic Development committee for 18 years; the  Cass County Transportation Authority for 25 years;  helped with a major fundraiser for APEX, Union High School’s Athletic and Physical Education Complex;  and served on the K&M board of directors for 18 years.   Dr.  Mathews was a charter member of the Dowagiac Lions Club in 1953; served on the Encore Dance Company board of directors; Tri-County Michigan Works board of directors; and The Timbers nursing facility advisory board.  He even performed free community shows as a magician from 1952-1964. In 1988, Dr. Mathews was appointed to spearhead a Downtown Development Authority to revitalize the central business district.  Within 10 years, Dowagiac was transformed into one of Michigan’s three best cities under 25,000. He received the Governor’s Minuteman Award in 1991.   Dr. Mathews served as the third president of the Greater Dowagiac Association following Gene Jenison and Hal Palmer in 1957. The GDA, a Chamber forerunner, rebuilt the city’s industrial base after losing its biggest industry and half its jobs when Kaiser-Frazer closed in 1955. Dr. Mathews guided Southwestern Michigan College through its first half century as Board of Trustees chairman. When he stepped down in January 2015, he was the longest-serving chairman in the United States and literally wrote the book on SMC’s amazing history, 2014’s Triumph Over Adversity. Proceeds go toward student scholarships in perpetuity. Six decades of community service produced much more than SMC, but four close calls almost kept Dr. Mathews from his Dowagiac destiny. Nearsightedness caused his father to take him to an eye doctor in Gaylord for glasses. On the way home, is Father remarked, “That looks like good, clean work. I think if I was a young man, that’s what I’d do.”  “Those sentences were the extent of my career counseling growing up,” Dr. Mathews said. Hard work at Central Michigan University brought him close to a B average, but one C+ threatened to derail Memphis optometry school until a professor relented and lifted it to a B-. Southern College of Optometry notified him by telegram not to report, classes were full. But he drove to Tennessee anyway and set up a vigil on the 20 steps of its colonial mansion.   After three days dogging the registrar’s arrivals and departures, she found a spot, telling him, “I’ve never run into anyone as persistent as you.” Finally, he needed $5,500 cash to buy his practice from Dr. Robert Wall and be near his brother in Three Rivers.   “Dowagiac was the busiest, nicest little town I’d seen in my life. I really wanted to come here,” so he devised a plan to borrow $5,500 over five years.  “That was a close call,” he told Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce upon accepting its first Lifetime Achievement Award Oct. 21, 2015. “If I had not gotten that loan, I would have practiced optometry, but not in Dowagiac. I’ve always believed these four close calls — any one of which could have ended my career before it started — did not get resolved by me or by luck, but by divine intervention.  I was destined to come to Dowagiac, meet Thelda and have the wonderful family we have. We benefited far more from this wonderful community than we could ever give back.” Dr. Mathews helped SMC grow from three buildings carved out of a cornfield and a $150,000 budget to 18 structures on campuses in Dowagiac and Niles with a $22 million budget and a student success rate in the top six percent nationally. He helped found the Michigan Community College Association in 1969, served as its president and chaired its legislation committee for a quarter century during 45 years on the MCCA board.   Dr. Mathews also served on the National Association of Community College Trustees and earned ACCT’s highest accolade, the Dale Ensign Award. “I surround myself with successful, honest, capable people who share my never-give-up attitude on issues and projects worth fighting for,” said Dr. Mathews. “I realize I had many choices in life as to how I would spend my time outside of my optometric practice and family. I can say, without reservation, I am completely comfortable with my choices,” Dr. Mathews reflected as he left the board. “I have devoted much of my adult life to community service, in and out of this community. The crown jewel of that service is Southwestern Michigan College. No other path in life could have given me more satisfaction or have made a greater positive impact on this community.   “When I attend SMC graduations, nurses-pinning ceremonies, music events, art exhibits, theatre productions and many other events, this all comes into focus.  “I can only imagine the void in SMC students’ lives and in this community had it not been for the affordable tuition and superior instruction, cultural events and the many other programs and services available at Southwestern Michigan College these past 50 years.” Dr. Mathews is survived by his wife, Thelda; sons, Scott (Ashley) Mathews of Seattle, WA and David (Sarah) Mathews of Dowagiac; seven grandchildren, Allison Mathews, Katie Mathews, Ryan Mathews, Kaiya Schneider, Samantha Mathews, Michael Mathews and Daniel Mathews; a brother, Dr. Thomas Mathews of Three Rivers. He was preceded in death by brothers, Dr. John Mathews, Richard Mathews and his sister, Ruth Cornell.