Obituaries

Harold Ira (H.I.) Matthews, formerly of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, died peacefully on June 2, 2024 (aged 97). H.I. was born February 28, 1927, in Witt, Illinois to Ira (1904 – 1994) and Madeline (1908 – 2009) Matthews. H.I. spent the first fourteen years of his life in Witt until the family moved to LaGrange, Illinois. He completed the last three years of high school at Lyons Township High School, enlisting in the United States Navy during his senior year.  H.I. was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1948 after serving as Pharmacist’s Mate, both stateside and in the Pacific aboard the USS De Haven (DD-727).

Following the Navy, he returned to LaGrange and enrolled in the Lyons Township Junior College, where he competed on both the basketball and baseball teams.  Following junior college, H.I. enrolled at Milliken University in Decatur, Illinois.  At Milliken, he was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity. The fraternity hosted a fall dance known as the ‘Harvest Hop’.  At this dance, H.I. met Tri Delta Sorority sister Sarah Ann “Annie” Peacock (1932 – 2015), the Queen of the Harvest Hop.  The two married and Sarah remained his best friend and wife for the next sixty-two years until her death.

Following graduation from Milliken, H.I. began his career in the insurance industry and continued in the industry for the next forty-one years until his retirement.  He spent the height of his career as a commercial underwriter for Continental Casualty Company (CNA Financial) in Chicago. Along the way, H.I. and Sarah had four sons while living in the suburbs of Denver, Milwaukee, then Chicago.  H.I. was always active in the community they called home, both as a youth baseball coach and with various roles within the Episcopal Church. In retirement, he and Sarah enjoyed the RV life, particularly along Florida’s Emerald Coast.  H.I.’s greatest joy, however, was raising his four sons and proudly witnessing the people his sons became within their own communities.

Those that shared their lives with H.I. will miss his conversation, his wit, and his incredible memory. For those of us closest to him, he never missed an opportunity to share time with family, particularly when it came to teaching the younger generations the art of the meld bid in Pinochle and the lyrics to My Grandfather’s Clock. Sadly, the day has come for us when “it stopped short — never to go again.”

H.I. was preceded in death by his parents, Ira and Madeline, and by his wife Sarah.  He is survived by his four sons: Marshall (Cathy) of Sheboygan, Wisconsin; John (Catherine) of LaGrange, Illinois; Ed (Debbie) of Holland, Michigan; and Tom (Sue) of Scottsdale, Arizona. He is also survived by sixteen grandchildren:  Jennifer (Joel); Brendan (Julia); David, Tim (Yasaman); Dana, Stephen; Mark (Hope); Michael (Gayoung); Mary; Katie (Tyler); Allison; Ryan; Ian; Jack; Tom; Brian; and eight great-grandchildren. On behalf of all of us, we want to thank Covenant Living at the Holmstad for providing great care, community and friendships the last 8 years of H.I.’s long, well lived life.

A memorial service will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Geneva, IL. August 17th @ 11:00 A.M.

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