Edward (Ed, Little Eddie, Eduardo, Edju) Herman Matthews, Jr, 89, was born in Chicago, Illinois. to Edward H. Matthews and Adrienne Cecile (Taylor) Matthews on May 6, 1935 and died February 2, 2025 at a Hospice facility near his home in The Villages, Florida. He became a Florida resident in 2009 to avoid high Minnesota taxes but spent summers in Walker, MN with his wife, Phyllis Jeanette (Johnson) Matthews (PJ). They married August 18, 1975, almost 50 years ago.

Ed began having difficulty getting words out unless he spoke very slowly. That led to a malignant brain tumor diagnosis. He did not regain consciousness after surgery Jan 30, 2025 in Ocala, FL and died 3 days later after one day in Hospice in The Villages. God answered his prayer to not linger in a vegetative state or to be a burden to anyone.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents, daughter Stacey Lynn Santiago and grandson Arthur Edward DeWitt. He is survived by wife-PJ, son Bret (Carol) Matthews, and their 3 hockey playing sons, daughter Susan Matthews and her 2 daughters, two stepchildren- Scott & Shelly Novak, 3 great grandchildren, sister Connie, 2 nieces & 5 great nieces & nephews.

Ed grew up in the Chicago suburbs, graduating from Maine Township High School in Park Ridge, IL where he competed in gymnastics on the rings.

He attended North Dakota Agricultural College (now NDSU) in Fargo. Ed called it Manure Tech. He went there because soybean oil was used in making paint and the school had a Paint Chemistry program. He joined Theta Chi fraternity. His oldest friend-Dennis Odegard was his Rook Father.

His military service included Army ROTC in college and a short time at Harlingen Air Force Base in Texas before transferring to Air Force Reserves.

Ed owned Matthews Paint Company. For many years, Florida's Walt Disney World used his paint on the roof of Space Mountain, an indoor roller coaster. The company became a leading manufacturer of acrylic polyurethane sign paint for the architectural signage industry. Ed moved the business from Cook County, IL to a pristine, new facility in Kenosha, WI. He always said his talent was choosing the right people to do a job & then letting them do it. They must have loved him or that philosophy because nearly all the workers moved to the new location. PPG acquired the business in 1995 & Ed retired. Then he bot a condo on the top floor of a building in south Maui where, from the lanai, he could watch breaching humpback whales. He sold after spending several winters there. Cruising the world became a passion: Antarctica, Japan, China, SE Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South & Central America including most of the Amazon River, the Mediterranean, Morocco, and Africa with shore excursions to wildlife preserves. The last & incredibly fascinating cruise was up the west coast of Greenland, across Baffin Bay to Canada, navigating the NW Passage, sailing past the north coast of Alaska and south to Nome.

An achievement of which he was most proud was being a pilot. As a young man, he learned to fly in a Piper J-3 Cub, a tail dragger. Much later, he talked PJ into learning to fly. They both added IFR ratings, Instrument Flight Rules, meaning they could both fly in the clouds & talk to Center just like the jet jockeys. Pretty exciting descending through clouds & breaking out with a runway directly ahead. They purchased a Piper Dakota and flew as far east as Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, west to Colorado, south to Florida & Alabama, north to Eskimo Point, which is now Arviat in Nunavut located above the tree line in far north Manitoba, and Churchill, Manitoba to see polar bears.

He played golf in Illinois, Minnesota & Florida, where lunch afterwards was the best part.

He went deer hunting even though he didn't like eating venison, often giving the deer to his in-laws.

For the last several years he experienced successful fly-in fishing at one of Canada's finest outfitters- Gangler's North Seal Lodge & Outposts in far north Manitoba. He & his friend Dale caught 17 trophy-sized Northern Pike in one afternoon. It was all catch & release except for shore lunch prepared by the guide. Flies were so bad, however, they usually opted for sandwiches out in the lake.

Ed took piano lessons, learning to play by reading notes for the right hand & chord markings for the left hand. All the kids have fond memories of him playing for them. Ed on the organ & PJ on the piano played one duet together, an old hymn- In the Garden, about walking & talking there with Jesus. Ed also had a gift for remembering words to numerous old songs, often surprising PJ with a song she had never heard before. He loved to laugh & to make others laugh. He would tickle the kids by squeezing their knees and say, "Soothing."

He will be remembered for his humor, generosity, kindness, compassion & wisdom. His generosity was never more obvious than when, for decades, he hosted PJ's family, the California 7, for their ten days on Kabekona Bay of Leech Lake, MN. He loved watching them enjoy being together & playing at the lake.

At his request there will be no service or Celebration of Life. If you wish to give a memorial, Ed would have recommend St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.