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RICHARD A. MATTHEWS Died April 3 at home in Mt. Lebanon, PA, following an extended illness, in the loving care of his wife, children, and infant granddaughter. Rick was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 8, 1946, the second of three children of Harold and Lois Matthews. After graduating from Cleveland's Brush High School in 1964, he enrolled at Miami University, where he joined the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and graduated with a BA in economics in 1968. He earned a master's degree in the same discipline from Ohio State University in 1970. After graduate school, he flew a desk at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base until his honorable discharge as first lieutenant in 1972. He then worked as an economist for the State of Ohio before moving to Pittsburgh in 1975 for a job at Mellon Bank. He earned an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh while working at Mellon, where he spent the rest of his career, retiring as managing director of global client management in the energy group in 2010. Rick's family came to know him as a man who took his time to make big decisions, but he knew when he'd found a sure thing. He met his wife, Judy, at a picnic organized by mutual friends in Pittsburgh in June 1978. The pair were engaged in December, married the following May, and spent the next 41 years raising three children, building treasured friendships, and seeing the world. He loved the outdoors. He found peace and a sense of wonder in nature, whether on a placid lake at dawn or at night under a sky full of stars, especially when he could share them with the people he loved. He delighted in teaching his children how to paddle a canoe, pitch a tent, and build a fire. He took up cycling in retirement and rode thousands of miles, including one trip by road and trail from Pittsburgh to Washington, DC, and another through Slovakia and Hungary. He and Judy nourished lifelong friendships through frequent dinner parties that featured long conversations where no topic was off limits. These friends compared notes on life's milestones: raising children, caring for aging parents, planning weddings, and fixing the rest of the world's problems together at the dining room table. Rick and Judy and the kids cherished their friends as family. Rick was a meticulous planner and a tireless documentarian. He made careful records and plans of all kinds for projects and events, from the construction of the family home to itineraries for cross-country vacations and travel abroad. The Air Force largely kept him in Ohio, but he and Judy saw the world together. He visited every U.S. state but Arkansas and North Dakota, and multiple countries across Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. He took thousands of scenic photographs, and his vacation dispatches and Christmas letters were thoughtful, funny, and warm. Although he shied away from self-portraits, Rick and Judy filled the house with photos of their beloved children and grandchildren. He made a point of staying informed about the world around him, but he started each morning with the newspaper comics, where he almost always found one or two that made him laugh out loud. He worried about the country he loved. He wrote eloquent letters, volunteered for campaigns, and spoke passionately with family and friends about the dangers of unwise, inhumane, and unrepresentative leadership. He was a regular blood and platelet donor for decades, and he donated bone marrow to a stranger in need. During retirement he worked as a United Way volunteer at Just Harvest, helping Pittsburghers file their tax returns. For several years he and Judy were active with the local chapter of Children's International Summer Villages, an exchange and peacebuilding organization, including serving a term as co-presidents. Rick is survived by his wife, Judith; and three children and their spouses, William and Clarissa Matthews of Arlington, VA, Lauren and Dennis Turbeville of Washington, DC, and Stephen and Kelly Matthews of Chicago. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Julianne, Evan, and Sloane Matthews, and Jack and Claire Turbeville. His sister and her husband, Marilyn and Scott McFerren of Hudson, Ohio, and his brother, Dennis Matthews of Kansas City, Kan., also survive him. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to Just Harvest (justharvest.org) or the Montour Trail Council (montourtrail.org). A memorial service will be held at a later date. Arrangements by LAUGHLIN CREMATION & FUNERAL TRIBUTES. www.laughlinfuneralhome.com Send condolences post-gazette.com/gb
