Obituary of Frederic Matthias

A. Frederic Matthias died March 31, 2017, at the age of 101 years and 5 months. He was preceded in death by his wife Rosetta Swan Matthias in 2000 after 60 years of marriage. He is survived by his four children, Judy Thayer (David) of Coralville, Iowa; Nancy Spransy (Dick) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Bob Matthias (Louisa) of Boulder, Colorado; and John Matthias (Margaret) of Aurora, Colorado. He leaves 11 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild, in addition to nieces and nephews. Fred was a practicing attorney for 75 years. He served in the US Army during WWII. He was active in Kiwanis, the Elks, on the Newton School Board, Salvation Army, American Legion, YMCA, Jasper County Zoning Commission, Habitat for Humanity, Park Centre, and the First Lutheran Church of Newton. He loved his family, music, hiking, biking, reading and travel. He was an inspiring role model to all who knew him or knew of him. A memorial service will be held at 2:00PM Saturday, April 8th at First Lutheran Church of Newton, followed by a reception at Park Centre in the Garden Room. In lieu of flowers, please donate to First Lutheran Church of Newton, Southern Poverty Law Center (donate.SPLCenter.org), or to unicefusa.org.