GENE JONES MATTHEWS, FUHS 1953

(Earl Gibson, FUHS '53, sent me the following message that Gene's daughter sent him. Pat Zima sent me the picture of Gene, Sammy and Jerry (l to r) at a Pow Wow party a few years ago.)

From Shonna on July 6, 2011:

I apologize for the delay in updating you. I am afraid, my news is not good.

Dad passed away in the early evening of Monday July 4th. Seems fitting for him don't you think?
He fought a good fight. And he went at the cancer the way he does everything, head on and sure of his decision.
Dad knew he had an uphill battle against pancreatic cancer, and that surgery, while extremely risky was his only option. He made it through surgery, but simply wasn't strong enough to recover.
I was with him and I know he suffered very little.
Please remember him as we do, a funny, caring guy, filled with opinions and conversation.
There will be a small family gathering in Oregon on Sunday. Dad's ashes will be combined with Mom's and dispersed in a private location. I would love stories to share with the grandchildren and great grandchildren if you have them, please email to me.
We aren't seeking donations, but Dad always donated to childhood cancer.
Thank you for your support and Love, we felt it here, and it was appreciated.
Love, Shonna and Mark

(Shonna sent her permission to post Gene's last message to us and her other messages.)



This one is from Gene on June 21:
FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS I HAVE BEEN WITH DR.S TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO
ABOUT A CANCEROUS TUMOR IN MY PANCREAS. IT BOILS DOWN TO NOTHING
AND A PROCEDURE CALLED THE WHIPPLE PROCEDURE.
THE PROCEDURE IS CONSIDERED ROUGH, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU HAVE HEART
PROBLEMS. THE PROCEDURE IS 9/10 HOURS IN DURATION.
NO OPERATION MEANS 4/6 MONTHS. TO LIVE.THERE IS NO CHEMO OR RADIATION
JUST MR WHIPPLE. A WEEK IN THE HOSPITAL AND AT LEAST 2 MONTHS RECOVERY.
MILD CHEMO WILL BE GIVEN AFTER SURGERY JUST TO HOPEFULLY HEAD OFF THE
RETURN OF THE CANCER.
THE MAIN REASON I AM COMMUNICATING WITH ALL OF YOU IS I AM SHUTTING DOWN
ALL OF MY WEB TV ADDRESS AND MAYBE SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE I WILL PLUG
BACK IN.
I WILL BE CONVALESCING AT HOME OR WHO KNOWS. I JUST KNOW WEB HAS TO GO
FOR NOW.
I WILL MISS ALL WHO HAVE SENT E-MAILS AND REALLY I LOVE YOU ALL.
OK THOSE WHO PRAY, PLEASE PRAY FOR MY DR.S. ESPECIALLY THE SURGEON. HE
IS A GOOD GUY AND I HAVE FAITH IN HIM. I PLAN ON GETTING 10 OR 12 HOURS
SLEEP OR MAYBE A LOT MORE WHO KNOWS.
THANKS TO YOU ALL FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP AND FOR YOUR LOVE, YOU KNOW WHO
YOU ARE. I WILL SHUT DOWN THIS WEEK END. THE OPERATION WILL BE HERE IN
CORVALIS, OR. EARLY TUES. THE 28TH OF JUNE.
HUGS TO YOU ALL, GENE MATTHEWS AKA GRANPAGENE.

This was from his daughter Shonna on June 28:
It was a 10 hour surgery with some good results. Cancer was limited to the tumor in the pancreas, with no extension to lymph nodes, liver or bowel. There was a great deal of scar tissue to clean up around previous surgery sites which took a long time. Going to ICU for the night, and probably tomorrow as well.

From Shonna on July 2:
Looks like it was the best of all possible situations. Wait and see on suture sites, infection, etc. but the surgery itself went better than expected... nice change
With any luck we have passed a hurdle. I can't lie, yesterday afternoon was grim at best. The doctor's have a fragile balance between too much fluid and not enough. Dad needed assistance breathing and they were able to use a positive pressure mask to force air into his lungs rather than intubating him.
Neither is fun. Hopefully he won't remember it, but Mark is pretty sure Dad is going to blame me.... But that's ok, he made it, so what's to complain about right? HAHA
The combination of drugs and exhaustion have really taken it out of him. He is sleeping today, and hard as it is, Mark and I are limiting our visits to a couple hours, and we sit behind him so he won't try and stay awake. I know some of you are anxious to call or visit, but please, not yet. He is still in intensive care and will be for the whole weekend.
Again, thanks for the good wishes and prayers, the doctor is very impressed with his improvement, and how fast he is healing. Plus, his insides are functioning already and the doc didn't expect that for a couple more days. Keeping true to form, he's early and without any advanced notice!
Shonna and Mark

From Shonna July 10:

I am attaching the long form of the notice we did in local papers. If you will pass on to others, I would appreciate it. I was going to place it in the OC Register, but time has gotten by me. There is a picture at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for all the good wishes.
Shonna

Eugene “Gene” Marshal Matthews
Eugene “Gene” Marshal Matthews, 75, of Corvallis passed away July 4 from complications of pancreatic cancer.
 He was born in Santa Ana, Calif. He met and married Dixie Marie in 1957; she preceded him in death in 1995.
 He served in the U.S. Army, played baseball, and retired as a police officer for the city of Fullerton, Calif., and moved to his beloved Oregon.
 He is survived by daughter Shonna and husband Richard of California; son Mark and wife Debbie of Oregon; grandchildren Rich, Jennifer and Jacquie of California, and Emma, Erin, Tessa, Sam and Nick of Oregon; great-grandchildren Nick and Cami of California, and Myah, Hudson and Madi of Oregon; sister Corallee and husband Bill of Indiana; and many loved cousins, nieces, nephews and good friends.
 He never met a stranger; his heart was big, warm and welcoming. He truly loved being a father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He had a zest for life, enjoyed fishing, camping and golfing, and was a wonderful companion and a true patriot. He will be missed and forever loved!
 The family is not seeking donations, but says Gene always donated to Children’s Cancer Research.