Don Matthews

Don M. Matthews, age 88, of Wanaque, NJ passed away Sunday, June 18, 2023, with family by his side.

Don was born to Don E. and Lorena Matthews in Jacksonville, Texas, just outside of Dallas. He graduated from North Dallas High School playing for the football team and sparking his interest in the field of Chemistry. He frequently told a story that he actually played in the Cotton Bowl. It is true it was just in high school!  Don met the love of his life, Rosemary in Dallas in 1956. Rosemary had finished her degree at the University of Arizona and went to Dallas with her friends that year. They were married in Denton, TX in August of 1957.

Also in 1957, he earned a MS degree in Chemistry from Oklahoma University. Don’s first jobs were in the chemical industry with Humko Sheffield, a Division of Kraft Foods in Tennessee. His job as a chemical salesman, while the beginning of his career, it was also the beginning of several relocations because of the work he was doing. Between 1957 and 1963, he relocated to the following states: Tennessee, Illinois, Texas and then finally to NJ.

During this time, they raised 2 children: Kelly born in 1959 and Scott born in 1963. While Kelly was born in Illinois and Scott in Houston, both children were essentially raised in Morristown, NJ for their childhood and young adult lives. While Don is a true Texan through and through, it would also be true that the Matthews family would call Morristown their hometown. Don and Rosemary enjoyed a loving and devoted marriage for 66 years.

In 1979, he was appointed general manager of the Chemical Specialties Division of PVO International, Inc. located in Boonton, NJ. He was formerly the division general sales manager. He was responsible for the sales and marketing of the line of specialty additives for the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, textile and thermoplastics industries. PVO went through several different ownerships in the next few years. It was acquired by Kay Corporation in 1980.

During this time, Don traveled for work but also for fun. Don and Rosemary would drive across the country to visit various sites, visit friends and relatives and often return to Rosemary’s roots in Tucson Arizona. Don enjoyed showing the Arizona sites to his grandkids, Michael and Max.  They also took trips to Europe. Highlights include Amsterdam and the Netherlands where they would purchase some of their most prized antique furniture to furnish their home. There was another trip to Rome where they rented an apartment right in the middle of the city for an entire month.

Don was an avid gardener. On his 2-acre home in Morristown, NJ he would work tirelessly to grow numerous kinds of fruits and vegetables: okra, zucchini, corn, cucumbers, lettuce, watermelons, strawberries and green beans to name a few. Every summer we would often have entire meals from his garden.

To complement his gardening skills, Don was also a master of the grill. Always using charcoal, but also experimenting with different woods (he had an apple tree in the backyard) for delicious smoked meats. During all seasons he would BBQ whether it was 20 below in the winter or pouring down rain in the spring. A few times, in his later years, the fire department paid him a visit because of the amount of smoke coming from his BBQ . . . the fire department had never seen such thing!

Anyone who has a memory of Don Matthews will remember one of the parties or celebrations. Whether it was in Morristown, Manhattan, Nyack, or Tucson, or even in the end in Wanaque, NJ, Don and Rosemary had the best of friends and had the best of times. He will be greatly missed.