William F Mattoon

William F. “Bill” Mattoon, 82, passed away Sept. 28, 2011, at his home. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Laura, and his children, Rick (Jill) Mattoon, Judy (John) Mina, Leslie (Tony) Street and Tracey (James) Mattoon-Amos and his eight grandchildren, Geneva and Phoebe Mattoon, Kate and Greg Mina, Rachel and Brian Street, McIan and Shea Amos.

Bill was a longtime attorney for major Pueblo institutions such as The Pueblo Chieftain and The Pueblo Board of Water Works and helped start The Impossible Players community theater group.

Bill was a 1947 graduate of Pueblo Centennial High School and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 2010. He participated in the debate team, yearbook staff, student government, and National Honor Society. Bill also was a member of the Quill and Scroll, the International Journalism Honor Society, the National Thespian Society, the Centennialight Editorial Staff and the ROTC Battalion Staff as a captain.

Bill attended Pueblo Junior College (now Pueblo Community College) for two years, graduating as a member of the 13th graduating class. As a freshman, he served as national president of Phi Theta Kappa Academic Honors Society. He also started the college’s first debate team and won national accolades. The Pueblo Community College Alumni Association honored him with its distinguished alumni award in 2010.

He then attended the University of Colorado at Boulder where he was a member of Glee Club, International Relations Club and ROTC. He earned a law degree, a commission in the Air Force, and received orders for active duty. Bill also studied abroad for one year at the University of London, having been awarded a Rotary Foundation Fellowship.

In 1953, Bill received his license to practice law in Colorado. In 1957, he was licensed to practice in front of the United States Supreme Court. He served in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps for the United States Air Force stationed in San Antonio, Texas. While there, Bill founded, with nine others, the Security Service Federal Credit Union, which now serves three states, and was honored by the business at its 50th anniversary celebration.

Upon returning to Pueblo, Bill joined the law firm of Petersen, Evensen and Evans, which is now Petersen & Fonda. He served as president of the firm. He was a Colorado Bar Association Fellow. The Pueblo County Bar Association honored Bill in 2004 for 50 years of service as an attorney. His major clients throughout the years have been First National Bank (now US Bank), Pueblo School District 60 (now Pueblo City Schools), The Pueblo Chieftain, Huerfano Cucharas Irrigation Company and The Pueblo Board of Water Works. In 2008, the Board of Water Works named its boardroom in his honor acknowledging his representation of them for 40 years.

One of Bill’s lifetime passions was theater. He performed in theater productions at Centennial and he played Judd Frye in the musical “Oklahoma” with the San Antonio Little Theater. He sang in operas and served as a vocalist with the Pueblo Municipal Band.

Bill made a major contribution to theater in Pueblo by co-founding The Impossible Players Community Theater group in 1966, starting what was the first of Pueblo’s now-numerous theater groups. Over the years, Bill acted, built sets and directed for the Impossible Players. He served on the board of directors and was elected president of the board for the organization. Bill received the Impy Life-Time Achievement Award and a week before he passed away, he received the Pueblo Performing Arts Guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

His dedication to his community can be seen throughout the years. He was a member of the Pueblo Junior Chamber of Commerce, the board of directors of the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, the Broadway Theatre League, a founding trustee of the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, a community columnist for The Pueblo Chieftain and supporter of the Pueblo Zoological Society.

Bill affected many people in the Pueblo community, whether by his time in high school and college, his success in his career, by enabling many aspiring actors and actresses to perform on stage, or by being a wonderful role model for his four children and eight grandchildren.

Service, 3 p.m. Friday at the Pueblo Convention Center. In lieu of food and flowers, charitable donations may be made to the Impossible Players, The Pueblo Zoo and the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research through the funeral home.