Peter Donald Mathewson

Peter Donald Mathewson

December 24, 1941 – July 28, 2023

On the 28th of July Pete packed up his guitar, grabbed his fiddle and went off to join the Angel Band.

Peter Donald Mathewson was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on Christmas Eve 1941, to Howard and Mary (Fogelboch) Mathewson. They lived on a farm next to his grandparents outside of McKain Township in western Pennsylvania. He attended a one room school. He learned to tend chickens, hoe potatoes and butcher hogs. At the beginning of his high school years the family moved to Tucson, AZ. Upon graduation he and a good buddy, over a bottle of Ron Rico Rum, decided to join the Navy. He served for twenty years and achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer. While stationed in Taiwan he married Tery Wei. They had two children, Michael and Cecilia. During his last two years of service he earned an Associates, a Bachelors, and a Master’s Degree in Psychology. After he retired from the Navy Pete decided the life of a psychologist was not for him. For twenty three years he worked in the aerospace industry as a quality assurance engineer. He retired from Lockheed Martin in 2000. In the fall of 1993 he met Susie. She had taken up country western dancing to change her life. Her life changed and so did his. They were married in the fall of 1996.

Pete was a man of many interests. From bicycles to open wheel Formula V's, if it had wheels on it he wanted to race it. If there wasn't a program for the sport he was interested in, he started one. After retirement he became fascinated with Sacred Harp or Shape Note Singing. Pete and Susie traveled throughout the - South attending numerous singing events. True to form Pete established a singing group in Colorado Springs. In 2006 Pete and Susie moved from Colorado Springs to La Junta, bought Susie's grandmothers' house and then spent three and a half years rebuilding it. Once the house was finished Pete started playing his guitar again, next came the mandolin and finally the fiddle. Along the way he acquired three young music students. He was Mr. Pete to them and they are a part of his legacy. In 2017 Pete was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, 2020 it was lung cancer and then in 2023 cancer of the bile duct. Through it all Pete remained Pete, living his life and playing his music. Pete is survived by his wife Susie, son Michael, daughter Cecilia, and brother Dave.

A Memorial service will be held at Emmanuel Mennonite Church in La Junta, on August 11, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. with Pastor Derek Hutchinson officiating.

Online condolences may be made at www.peacockFH.com. Peacock-Larsen Funeral Home & Arkansas Valley Crematory is in charge of arrangements.