Jack Matthews

Jack Leon Matthews, born May 10, 1926, in St. Petersburg Florida, brought into this world by his parents Carlos and Anna Matthews, started his new life in heaven on August 3, 2025, joining his parents, his brother Carroll, his first wife of 49 years, Elizabeth Rose (“Betty”) Matthews, who passed in 1998, and his second wife Phyllis of 23 years, who passed on June 12, 2025. Jack and Betty had three sons, Mark, Keith, and Craig and three grandchildren, Brian (married to Susan) and Kevin (married to his second wife Lee) by Jack’s son Mark, and Jenna from Craig and his wife Linda. Jack also enjoyed 4 great grandchildren: Lila and Quinn from Brian and Susan, and Amelia and Theo from Kevin and his first wife, Geraldine.

Four years after Betty passed, Jack married Phyllis Fornoff in April 2002 and acquired bonus children, a daughter, Kathy Redmon, and (Brian) and a son, Greg Fornoff (Betsy Wert). As a testimony to Jack and Phyllis, they were able to blend two families together into making one big family. As blended families know, this is not an easy accomplishment; but he and Phyllis did just that. Jack always said that Kathy and Greg were like his own daughter and son, not step-children, and Kathy and Greg felt the same about him as Jack was their Dad and John Fornoff was their loving Father who passed in 1993. Phyllis felt the same about Jack’s family. Jack has four more grandchildren from his marriage to Phyllis: Evy and Juli, daughters of Kathy and Brian, Katie McMullin (married to husband Casey), and Jonathon Fornoff, who helped welcome Jack to heaven; and a great granddaughter, Charlotte McMullin.

Jack joined the US Navy in 1944 and attended boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Air Station where he was accepted into Signalmen’s school in Sampson, New York. Jack was accepted in the V-12 program for Officers Training at Newberry College, SC, and the University of South Carolina and then returned home to finish his degree at Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH. Jack started his career in 1948 at Shell Oil Company in Cleveland, OH, where he met his wife Betty and where they gave birth to their three sons. The family saw much of our country as the boys grew up and as they moved with Shell across the country. First in Ohio from 1950-1954; off to Queens, NY, to Midland Park, NJ, from Fall 1954 to Fall 1956; and then to Towson, MD, through the rest of 1956. They were transferred to St. Louis, MO, for 4 months in early 1957, then to Glendale, CA, through the rest of 1957 before moving to Piedmont, CA, at the beginning of 1958. Edmonds, WA, came next from the Fall of 1958 through the Fall of 1964. The Matthews family ended their west coast swing with 4 months in Sunnyvale, CA, at the end of 1964 before moving to Arlington Heights, IL, at the beginning of 1965. While there Jack was elected to the School Board for District 214 in Mt. Prospect and served for 5 years before retiring from Shell and purchasing The Will Harms Co. in Pekin, IL, in 1975 with Betty before selling the company in 1991 To fully retire. With all those moves, Jack and Betty raised three boys who had accomplished careers and are comfortably retired.

Jack resided in Pekin from 1976 until 2023 when he and Phyllis moved to Springfield, IL, to be closer to family. He enjoyed traveling, reading, dinners with family and friends, and playing golf and cards at the Pekin Country Club. Jack was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Pekin where he went to celebrate life and love of Christ.

During the time Jack owned Will Harms, he recognized that many offices did not celebrate “Secretary’s Day.” (Get over it, it was “Secretary’s Day back then!”) Jack started giving carnations to the women in the offices. They were delivered personally by Jack as a thank you to the customers they served. The program grew for over 15 years until Jack was delivering over 900 carnations through the course of the week.

Jack knew what service meant and he was so thankful for the people he could serve. Jack served as Rotary Club president from 1985 to 1986. He served on the Pekin Country Club’s Board of Governors, the Marigold Festival Executive Committee between 1977 and 1980 and was a member of the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors between 1979 and 1981. Jack served as chairman of the United Way of Pekin campaign in 1981 and was president of the United Way in 1983. Jack served as president of the Pekin Downtown Business Association and the Chamber’s Build Pekin Committee. Jack was named Pekin’s Rotarian of the Year in 1986-1987 as well as receiving the Rotary Club of Pekin’s Paul Harris Fellow award in 1990, an award which recognized Jack for serving the Rotary Club’s Philosophy of “Service above Self.” Jack was greatly honored by this award as he always served the community, friends, and family with service, pride, and love to everyone who knew him. Material items did not mean much to Jack. He spent his time serving the community, making friends, loving his family, and sharing family values that will live many generations in the Matthews/Fornoff family. This is not only Jack’s legacy, but also our inheritance. We have inherited from Jack the greatest gift of all, the values of a great man, the joy of a great father, and the gifts of what are truly important in life, the gifts of giving to and serving others, loving with full compassion, and never taking a day for granted. We are selfishly weeping today as he begins his new life, but he lives with all of us each day as we carry out Jack’s mission in life of loving, caring, and serving each other. We are truly blessed and fortunate to have lived, loved, and learned from Jack. We love you Dad, each day and forever!

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, August 9, 2025 at Henderson Funeral Home & Crematory with Father Michael Andrejek officiating. Visitation will be from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Saturday at the funeral home. Inurnment will be in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Pekin.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.