John William Matthias Jr.

The grandson of local pioneer and Sarasota’s first mayor of the incorporated City of Sarasota, A.B. Edwards, Jack Matthias watched Sarasota grow from a small town into the busy city it is today. With deep roots in Sarasota---he was a fourth-generation Sarasota native, his grandfather helped establish Myakka State Park, and his mother was a former Miss Sarasota---Jack developed a deep love for the city and its waters from childhood. Although his interests were many---including planes, Jeeps, and music---it was fishing that he was most passionate about. An avid and talented fisherman, Jack enjoyed sharing this passion with others, especially his son, who carries on his father’s legacy as an angler and waterman. As skipper of his beloved Mako 21, Eagle One, Jack was a Sarasota Bay ambassador of sorts---regularly teaching his son’s friends to fish or taking family and friends out on the bay to show them sea life, and sometimes a wonderful surprise of a school of stingrays, dolphins, or manatees. He tried in his quiet way to improve local reefs. For one project, he convinced the power company to donate defunct glass insulators and concrete poles, and he participated in the effort to put them to use as an artificial reef. Jack was also part of a group of fisherman whose peaceful intervention prevented a developer from filling in a large portion of the bay to build homes. Jack’s kindness, humor, and charm touched a countless many. As a friend recently said of Jack, “to have had a wonderful life and enjoyed it with good friends is a life celebrated.” He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Vicky Matthias; his son, Britt Matthias, daughter in-law to be and two grandchildren, Nicholas Matthias and Kailee Matthias. A celebration of his life will be held for close friends and family. A final thought from a good friend: “Keep your airspeed up!” Memorial donations may be made to Mote Marine.