Thomas Ronald “Ron” Mathis, Captain USN (Ret) passed away on May 14, 2015. He was born May 20, 1929 to Olive and Wilton Mathis and had two siblings, Matt Mathis and Marna Dale Lewallyn all of whom he survived. He was happily married for almost 62 years to Agnes Neimeyer Mathis, and is survived by her and their two children, Carol and Tom, and their families. Ron was raised in Hot Springs and graduated from Hot Springs High School class of 1947, where he was captain of the football team and president of the National Honor Society. He was an all-state center 1944-46. He was active in Boy Scouts & achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. After high school Ron spent a year at the University of Mississippi on football scholarship. In 1948 he entered the US Naval Academy and graduated in the class of 1952. After a summer spent training incoming plebes at the Naval Academy, he entered Naval Aviation and received his Navy Wings in 1953. He served in tours with Naval Aviation for ten years. During his aviation tours he qualified in 17 different types of aircraft – both aircraft carriers and ashore. In 1963 Ron returned to surface Navy as where he served as weapons officer of the USS Albany and USS Harry E. Yarnell. From 1969-1970 he served in Vietnam where he was appointed as the US Advisor to the Vietnamese Naval Academy, returning in 1970 to take command of the USS Charles R. Ware. Ron was ordered to the Naval Ordinance System Command headquarters where he served on several defense projects, including the AEGIS Missile Defense System. In 1977, he took command of the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach, CA, followed in 1980 by command of the Naval Ship Weapons System Engineering Base in Port Hueneme, CA. He retired from the Navy in 1982 and returned to Hot Springs where he operated a consulting company focused on defense weapons systems for 10 years. Ron was an active member of First Presbyterian Church of Hot Springs, serving as an elder as well as many other church committees. Ron is loved and will be missed by his wife Agnes Mathis, and his children and their families: Tom Mathis, Veronica Mathis; TJ Mathis, Stacy Mathis, Connor Mathis; Jacob Mathis, Whitney Mathis, Ashlynn; Brittany Mathis, Sadiana Mathis; Carol Mathis, Lorene Armes. He was dedicated to his God, his family, and his country. His life exemplified the Navy motto: “Not Self, but Country.”
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