William Kelsey Mathews

William Kelsey Mathews passed away on March 15, 2017 at Lakeview Village, East Side Terrace, where he received exemplary care by all of the dedicated staff. He is survived by his beloved wife of almost 70 years, Angela Rose Mathews; sons, William K. Mathews II (Sharon) and Gary Robert Mathews (Deborah); daughter, Michele Mathews Breitenstein; and dear friend whom he adopted, loved and cared for as his own, Rhea Winslow; five grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. Bill was preceded in death by granddaughter, Kristin Mathews; father, C. Kelsey Mathews; mother, Edna Major Mathews; sister, Mary Louise Deay and husband, Dwight; brother, Robert Major Mathews MD and wife, Patricia; and nephew, Mark M. Mathews.

After graduating from the University of Kansas in 1943, William joined the Douglas Aircraft Company where he engaged in the design of military aircraft. There he was employed as design lead man with responsibility for the structural design and production integrity of military and research aircraft.

William saw Naval Service in World War II as a Lieutenant J.G. on the aircraft carrier Monterey in the South Pacific, 1944 – 1946, engaged in ship construction, repair, stability, firefighting and damage control. He received the Asiatic Pacific Area Service Ribbon for participation in the Leyte Operation, Okinawa Operation, Third Fleet Operations against Japan and the Philippine Liberation ribbon.

Following his service in World War II, he rejoined the Douglas Aircraft Company where there, and subsequently at Hughes Aircraft Company, he engaged in the development and design of research and production aircraft for the U.S. Airforce and Navy.

In 1952, he joined the Ford Motor Company as Supervisor of Product Engineering. In 1955, he joined the staff of Midwest Research Institute, as senior research scientist. In 1957, he helped found Stephen and Associates, Inc. and served as Vice President and Executive Engineer.

In 1962, he established his own firm as a consulting engineer where he participated in hundreds of product liability investigations as a consultant and expert witness working with such prestigious national law firms as Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman.

William was an inventor and had a variety of patents. He belonged to the National and Missouri Society of Professional engineers, the Industrial Consulting Engineers Committee and was a Professional Engineer licensed in the states of Missouri and Kansas. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Kansas University.

William was a voracious reader and bridge player attaining the status of Life Master early on in his life. He will be dearly missed.

A Celebration of Life Visitation will be held 5:00pm – 7:00pm, Thursday, June 1st, 2017 at McGilley & Hoge Chapel. A Military Graveside Service will be held 11:00am, Friday, June 2nd, 2017 at the Leavenworth National Cemetery in Leavenworth, Kansas.