Orville (O. D.) Mathews, a resident of Midland City, AL, died Sunday morning, October 29, 2006, at his home, surrounded by his loving family. He was 74.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A. M. Wednesday, November 1, 2006, in the Holman-Headland Mortuary Chapel with Reverend Taylor Hodges and Reverend Larry Adams officiating. Burial will follow in the Midland City Cemetery. Military rites will be conducted at the graveside.
Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to the Midland City Baptist Church Memorial Fund, c/o Mickey Fletcher, 1368 County Road 49, Midland City, AL 36350.
Mathews was born and reared in Argyle, FL. He had lived in Midland City since 1966. A veteran of the Armed Forces, Mathews retired from the U. S. Army Reserve in 1992 with the rank of Staff Sergeant with active duty in the U. S. Air Force and both the Air Force and Army Reserves. During his military career, he completed a tour of duty to Alaska in 1955 and was dispatched to Chile in 1960 in support of earthquake disaster relief and also for special duty to the Belgian Congo during political unrest in 1961. Mathews retired in 1994 as an Aircraft Technical Inspector with Dyncorp at the Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker after thirty-three years employment. He was licensed as both a HVAC and Electrical Contractor. Mathews established the Mathews Service Company which has been serving the local community since 1969.
Mathews was an active member of the Midland City Baptist Church where he served as a Deacon. He was also a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge No. 2003.
Mathews was preceded in death by his father, George Earl Mathews, his mother, Clara Spooner Mathews, and a sister, Eunice Slaey.
Surviving relatives include his wife of fifty-four years, Faye Keene Mathews, Midland City; three daughters, Dr. Brenda Carpenter and husband, Jim, Tifton, GA, Janet Blackmon and husband, Tim, Elba, AL, and Teresa Ward and husband, Frank, Montgomery, AL; two sons, Dennis M. Mathews, Midland City, and Robert D. Mathews and wife, Kim, Midland City; a sister, Mary Lena Hobbs and husband, Paul, Paducah, KY; two brothers, Leonard Mathews and wife, Jean, Freeport, FL, and Earl Mathews, Argyle; six grandchildren, Matthew Carpenter and wife, Tyna, Anna Carpenter, Jake Blackmon, Joseph Mathews, Abbie Mathews, and Christopher Ward; two great-grandchildren, Rebekkah and Kaylynn Carpenter.
Serving as active pallbearers will be Ted Yeomans, Mickey Fletcher, Dalton Penn, Don Bassett, Wayne Haire, and Johnny Joyner.
[Source: The DeFuniak Springs Herald, November 2, 2006, Page 7B]
[Burial: Midland City Cemetery, Midland City, Alabama]