David Reginald Matthews

David Matthews died on November 20 at his home in Jacksonville, at age 81. David was born in the Welsh Valleys on January 8, 1943, to the proud Welshman Montague (Monty) and a sweet Welsh lady, Eva (Williams). David grew up in Trethomas, a coal-mining village halfway up a green and purple mountain that housed the colliery where his dad worked. His parents named him David, after the Welsh Dragon, and Reginald after Monty’s favourite brother.

David grew up enjoying parties and gatherings with his large extended family. He loved his dog, Treve, fishing, singing and being better at playing the piano than his older sister, Marian, who he loved dearly but continued to tease throughout his life!

To get to school, David had to catch a train. Because he was often late and missed his ride, he had to run diagonally across the mountainside to the cheers of his friends who were already on board. They shouted, “Come on, Dave! Come on, Dave,” as they hung out of the doors with their hands extended to catch him and pull him in. David excelled academically and was an excellent rugby player.

He attended New Tredegar Technical School and then studied Mechanical Engineering at CAT in Cathays Park, Cardiff.

David’s dad, Monty, did not want his son to stay in the Welsh Valleys, a place of limited employment opportunity. He encouraged his son to spread his wings. So, with his dad’s blessing, in 1970, David took his family—daughter, Helen, and son, Graeme—to Aberdeen, Scotland, where he worked as an engineer in a paper mill. His employment in Scotland was a career springboard, leading to positions at paper mills throughout England, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. His work eventually took him to America.

As a father of two, David felt the need to seek out God and find the right religion in which to raise his family. This began his faithful and ardent walk with Jesus.

In 1986 David moved “across the pond” to Dalton, Massachusetts, continuing his career in the paper industry, serving as a consultant, mostly involved with recycled paper. That led to him becoming Sales Manager and developing a program which significantly enhanced the company’s aftermarket sales.

It was in Massachusetts where David met and married his sweetheart, Sandra.

After completing his consultancy in Dalton, David accepted an opportunity to work in an engineering capacity with General Electric in Jacksonville, Florida. Eventually, he left GE and started his own company, Protech, a firm that allowed him to “reverse engineer” projects for many different types of companies. When he closed that business, he continued working in the engineering field but more in the design area. He was able to work much of the time from home, in his “Shed Office.”

David retired as an engineer in 2020 but decided he didn’t have enough to do and was unwilling to sit in his recliner and fade away. He saw an advertisement looking for school bus drivers, and he figured that it was something he could definitely do. David proceeded to acquire the required commercial driver’s license and began driving a school bus. He absolutely loved the job and drove his bus until medical issues prevented him from continuing. As he recuperated, he always carried the thought he would drive again. Unfortunately, that was not to be.

In Jacksonville, in 2009, David and Sandra began investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when David’s daughter arranged to have missionaries pay a visit to her dad and Sandra. They came to embrace their newfound religion and waited for David’s grandson, Benjamin, to complete his missionary service in South Africa and travel to Jacksonville from the United Kingdom to baptize them.

David and Sandra became fully involved members of the Mandarin First Ward in Jacksonville, where David shared his musical talents and actively served, taught and testified of Christ’s gospel for the remainder of his life. David and Sandra sealed their marriage in the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple on October 4, 2010, He always cherished his relationship with his eternal companion. Theirs will one day be a joyous reunion.

David’s favourite scripture was Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

He loved to think that that manifesto could not be bested byanyone.

David was an 11-year member of the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus, and his favourite hymn was “Cwm Rhondda” (Bread of Heaven).

“Guide me, O thou great Redeemer, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but thou art mighty; Hold me with thy powerful hand: Bread of heaven, bread of heaven Feed me till I want no more. Feed me till I want no more.”

David’s Lord, Saviour and King, Jesus Christ, was always the centre of his life, and he was a faithful disciple as he passed through the veil. He always looked forward to meeting Jesus and wanted to hear Him say these words: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25: 21).

Throughout all the vagaries of David’s life, one thing that never changed was his Christian belief. His devotion to his faith and spreading it to others was a major component of who he was.

David’s parents preceded him in death, as did his sister, Marian, and her husband, Bill. David is survived by his wife, Sandra. His daughter, Helena (Ian), and son, Graeme. Sandra’s children: David, Aimee and Christian. He has five grandchildren: Benjamin (Angelique), Caylie, Ian, Paisley and Madison.

David will be cremated, with his ashes sent to Great Britain to be spread over the hills of Wales.

A visitation for David will be held Saturday, November 30, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 11951 Old St Augustine Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32223, followed by a funeral service at 12:00 PM.

Services can be viewed online:

https://lumen.zoom.us/j/2668589069?omn=98085289865

Meeting ID: 266 858 9069