Mr. Ronald (Ron) Foster Matthews Sr. passed away peacefully after a brief battle with cancer and a long struggle with the complications of diabetes on May 25, 2025.
A native of Somerset County, Md., he was born at St. Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Mass., on July 20, 1943, and was the second son of the late Stanley M. and Pauline S. Matthews of Kingston, Md.
Ron graduated in 1961 from Marion High School in Marion, Md., and served in the U.S. Navy from 1961 to 1964.
He worked for 41 years in the personal finance, banking, and insurance businesses in positions that took him and his family to 11 different cities and towns in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
He left the Navy to avoid the frequent transfers that are routine for military families before settling in Pocomoke City in 1981. He moved to Felton, Del., in 1998. In 2005 he retired first to Salisbury, Md., and then back to the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where he lived until his death. He often said that one of the “worst” decisions he ever made was leaving Nassawadox in 1973.
Ron grew up in a competitive household with two brothers who challenged each other to be the best they could be in baseball, soccer, Indian leg wrestling, fishing, cards, golf, tennis, or most of all, basketball. He broke several records for basketball and baseball at tiny Marion High School, only to proudly see them all broken by his younger brother, Rob. He loved his sisters dearly but teased them in ways only older brothers could. One of his favorite dance partners was his sister Bonnie, with whom he would shake many a rug with his distinctive dance moves. He played basketball wherever and whenever he could until his late 50s, always looking for a game and a chance to make a few fadeaway jump shots, take a charge, or offensively block out the defense from the basket.
Ron served as a baseball coach at both Shore and Kings Grant Little Leagues, was president of the Northampton County Jaycees, and was a dedicated member of the Northampton County Fire and Rescue Company. At one time, he held the record for a transport between the Eastern Shore and Kings Daughter’s Hospital in Norfolk, reaching speeds of up to 135 mph on the Bay Bridge-Tunnel and Route 13.
Ron was preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Rochelle Boole Matthews; his brother Stanley Milbourne Matthews; his brother-in-law, Leslie Herman Heineken; and his beloved father- and mother-in-law, Willis E. and Grace Tingle Boole.
He is survived by his three sons, Ronald F. Matthews Jr. and his wife, Tammy, of Melfa, Scott F. Matthews and his wife, Beth, of Pocomoke City, and Todd L. Matthews and his wife, Andie Brace, of Newburgh, N.Y.; his four grandchildren, Ashleigh Matthews Miller and her husband, Matt, of Carlisle, Pa., Justin E.F. Matthews and his wife, Brittany Drewer Matthews, of Pocomoke City, Abby Matthews and Matt Egan, of Charlotte, N.C., and Caroline Matthews, of Pocomoke City; as well as five great-grandchildren, Brayden and Liam Miller, and Mayson, Foster, and Levin Matthews.
He is also survived by his siblings, Sandra Matthews Marshall and her husband, Larry, of Salisbury, Md., Bonnie Matthews Clayton and her husband, Paul, of Wilmington, N.C., and Rob Matthews and his wife, Pam, of Salisbury; his sister-in-law, Kathy Powers Matthews, of Salisbury; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins, including a special cousin, Debbie Baker, of Fall River, Mass.
Over the past year, Ron’s family has been thankful for the care and friendship given by the caregivers at Shore Health and Rehabilitation in Parksley. Their concern, care, and selflessness given to Ron is much appreciated.
A graveside funeral service will be conducted on Saturday, May 31, at 1 p.m. at First Baptist Cemetery in Pocomoke City. A visitation for family and friends will be on Friday evening, May 30, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Holland Funeral Home in Nassawadox.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Randy Custis Memorial Fund at P.O. Box 243, Nassawadox, VA 23413, which supports the Randy Custis Memorial Park in Nassawadox; the Shore Youth Golf Club at P.O. Box 21, Nassawadox, VA 23413; or the Eastern Shore SPCA at P.O. Box 164 Onley, VA 23418.
Family and friends may sign the guest book at www.hollandfuneralhome.net
Arrangements are being made by the Holland Funeral Home in Nassawadox.
