Roger S. Matthews

Roger S. Matthews, 93, of Inverness, Florida, passed away on July 23, 2026; at his home under the care of VITAS Hospice.

Roger was born in the borough of Queens in the city of New York on approximately March 12, 1933. He was a foundling – discovered on a doorstep and turned over to social services in September‌ 1933. The name provided to the Department of Welfare was Sonny Matthews. The name Roger was assigned by the department. He was placed in the Brooklyn Nursery and Child’s Hospital and later transferred to the Edwin Gould New York Fund. He was relocated to many different institutions until he was placed in Foster Care where he remained until his graduation from Thomas A. Edison Vocational High School. During high school, he received multiple Certificates of Merit for Service, Leadership, and Sports.

Following high school, Roger began working in oil heating. This was the early 1950s when there was a push to convert from coal to oil. 

Roger married Jane Hoffmeyer in May 1956. Together they had 4 daughters: Janice Anne, born in 1959; Donna Lee, born in 1960; Nancy Lynn, born in 1963; and Deborah Sue, born in 1966. Roger and Jane began their married life in Q Gardens, New York, and purchased their first home in Cambria Heights, Queens, New York.  Later the family moved to Wantagh on Long Island. 

Roger left oil heating and began working for New York Telephone in Manhattan in 1958, where he worked as a telephone installer, a job he did well and enjoyed. He made many friends in that business and worked there until 1968. Roger left as he was unable to secure a transfer to Connecticut Bell. He worked briefly at a soda machine shop until the family moved to Sheffield, Massachusetts, where Roger intended to build a family campground. Unfortunately, politics and zoning did not allow that dream to come true. In the spring of 1970, the family sold the property in Sheffield and found a new home in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In Pittsfield, Roger was able to use his oil burner technician skills to secure a job. After a few years, Roger set out to start his own business, repairing and servicing oil burners. He also worked at General Electric in the Power Transformer Department while he got his business up and running. There he actually met Jack Welch, who later became the CEO of General Electric!

By 1976, Roger and Jane decided to end their marriage. Roger continued his oil burner business and purchased a multi-family home to live in, rent apartments, and run his business. In 1980, he married Geraldine Walker. He was very active in his church and often drove the bus to bring members to church. By the late 1980s, Roger sold his business and home, and he and Geri moved to North Carolina where Geri’s family was relocating as GE left Pittsfield for North Carolina. Roger worked at a factory for several years before finally retiring. He also had his first health crisis in the mid-1990s, resulting in a quintuple heart bypass surgery. Soon after that, he and Geri ended their marriage. 

Roger met his last wife, Cutine Abernethy, and married her on August 1, 1998. They remained married until she passed away in 2012. Following her death, Roger  moved back to Massachusetts to be close to his daughter Janice. Together they located a two-family building next door, and soon Roger was once again living in his own apartment. Janice, her husband Steve, and Roger worked together on two additional houses. Roger also joined the YMCA and attended Silver Sneakers, (though he always called it Silver Slippers). He also sang at Second Congregational Church, which they all attended, and once was Herod in the annual Christmas pageant. Roger also met Maria Carey, and they had a lovely relationship and traveled with Jan and Steve to many places, including visits to California and Northern Virginia to visit daughters as well as Hawaii to celebrate Deborah’s 50th birthday. The Arizona trip also included a wonderful hot-air balloon ride that Nancy organized.

A trip to Southern California in late 2015 was quite special in that Nancy arranged for Dad to attend the Rose Bowl Game featuring Iowa and Stanford!  It was a blow out by Stanford that Dad really enjoyed.   A subsequent trip to California to visit Nancy and Cindy included a visit to the Queen Mary as well as the Chinese Lanterns at the Los Angeles Botanical Garden

Following a fall on the ice in 2019, Roger, Janice, and Steve decided to move to Florida. Here they found good friends and neighbors and a new church family. Roger enjoyed singing in the choir at First Christian Church and also loved attending the weekly Cowboy Jam, (though he called it Cowboy Church). He made many friends and enjoyed the game nights, Roamers Lunch outings, as well as the weekly service and Bible Study. He hardly ever missed a Men’s Breakfast on Thursdays!

While in Florida, he had the opportunity to attend Rays baseball games and secured a signed baseball from Pete Fairbanks at the spring training game the family attended as part of his 90^th birthday celebration! He also traveled to Colorado to visit with his two daughters, Nancy and Donna, and see their new homes. He especially enjoyed the train ride with Donna on the Durango-Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad. Roger, Jan, and Steve also had a lovely trip to Northern Virginia to visit Deb and Glen and to see a concert at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. His last trip was on a Royal Caribbean cruise in January 2026.  Roger had the time of his life on the cruise, including a visit to the Dominican Republic—a dream fulfilled to use his passport and visit somewhere outside the United States! His 93th birthday included a lovely boat ride on the Homosassa River—including a birthday Bud Light!

Roger never met a stranger and he thrived on talking to people and looking out for others. He especially cherished giving $2 dollar bills to children and a few lucky adults!

Roger’s deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ was his foundation in life, and his family takes comfort that Roger knew he was so loved as he departed this life. Roger is survived by his four daughters: Janice Adam (Steve), Donna Matthews, Nancy Matthews (Cindy Moore) and Deborah Bartram (Glen); three step-granddaughters: Sarah Adam (Fardeen Chowdhury), Ashley Adam, and Hilary Adam; and one great step-grandchild: Avery Graves.

We were fortunate to have such wonderful hospice care through VITAS, specifically our CNA Lisa, Nurse Michelle, and Social Worker Sheila. All were greatly appreciated by our family and our dad.

In lieu of flowers, friends may donate to the First Christian Church of Inverness.

A Celebration of Life will be conducted on Saturday, August 1, 2026, at 11:00 AM at the First Christian Church of Inverness, with the Reverend Tom Thomas officiating. Interment will be at a later date in the columbarium of Oak Ridge Cemetery. The Chas. E. Davis Funeral Home with Crematory is assisting the family.