January 26, 1934
December 3, 2020
Richard Jay “Dick” Mathewson, professor and chair emeritus of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Oklahoma, died in Norman from complications of COVID-19 after falling Thanksgiving morning. He was 86 years “down the road of life” as he liked to say. A true pioneer and Renaissance man, Dick enjoyed a varied and full life, educated many dentists in Michigan, Oregon and Oklahoma, and championed the health of children, particularly those with disabilities.
Born the only child to Jackson William and Goldie Ann Mathewson, Dick loved telling people he came into this world in the same hospital where his wife became a nurse and his daughter was born. A native of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, he grew up with lots of cousins and spent many summers on his grandparent’s farm.
Dick graduated from Arthur Hill High School in Saginaw, Michigan where he was a member of the varsity swim team. In just three years at the University of Central Michigan, he earned a degree in biology and chemistry. Dick was later named an outstanding alumnus of CMU.
In fall 1956 he was accepted into the University of Michigan College of Dentistry. During that time, Dick met and married his wife, Alice, who worked as a registered nurse.
A two-year stint in the U.S. Army Dental Corps at Fort Lee, Virginia followed his graduation from dental school. After attaining the rank of captain, Dick was discharged and bought a general dentistry practice in Alma, Michigan. He closed it two years later to accept a fellowship from the Charles Stuart Mott Foundation to attend the University of Detroit School of Dentistry, specializing in children’s dentistry.
Dick later accepted a staff position at the C.S. Mott Children’s Health Center and the family, which included a son and daughter, moved and restored a 100-year-old farmhouse in Flushing, Michigan. During that time, he earned a master’s degree in oral biology.
On the move once more, the Mathewson family arrived in Portland, Oregon in 1968 where Dick joined the University of Oregon Dental School – Crippled Children’s Division. They thoroughly enjoyed their time in the Cascade Mountains, Pacific Ocean, and their new lush, green gardens.
Dick was recruited to OU in 1973 to become a founding faculty member of the newly established College of Dentistry in Oklahoma City, serving as Professor and Chair of the Department of Dentistry for Children and Director of General Dentistry at Children’s Hospital. It was, as he later described, the opportunity of a lifetime. He continued lecturing, researching, and writing, co-authoring the textbook, Fundamentals of Pediatric Dentistry.
Dick also earned a doctorate in higher education and health administration from OU, was a Regent’s Professor, twice chosen by students as Professor of the Year and his department was named Most Outstanding four times.
A kind and gentle dentist, he was also firm, insisting on good behavior from his young patients while in his dental chair. He taught students that children are not small adults and gave them a solid foundation for attending to the specialized health and well-being of children. Dick was also an early adopter of a number of progressive ideas, including fluoridating drinking water.
He was a diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentists and was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American College of Dentistry.
For the many contributions to his field, there is a bas-relief bust of Dick in the OU College of Dentistry.
In retirement, Dick tackled a host of projects with the same zest that he gave to children’s dentistry. Using his extensive research skills, he became an expert in genealogy, tracing family history back to the shores of Lake Michigan where Dick was involved with the Pointe aux Barques Lighthouse Society. He also published a history book about a distant relative named Buffalo Bill Mathewson.
In addition, Dick was a master organic gardener and transformed his backyard into a massive vegetable garden, often trying out different plants and seeds, stubbornly insisting anything can grow in the harsh Oklahoma climate. Exceptionally organized, he made it known that he wanted his headstone to proclaim, “Here lies Dick getting organized.”
With a lifelong interest in early colonial furniture and decorative arts, Dick and Alice also maintained spaces in several antique stores, selling pieces they had restored.
Dick and Alice returned often to their home state of Michigan and traveled extensively throughout the United States, spent time fly fishing and camping in New Mexico and Colorado – using flies he tied himself – drove Interstate 40 from Norman to Albuquerque countless times to visit their son and his family, stayed several weeks on their own in France and Germany where their daughter lived at the time, and also spent time in Mexico and England.
Dick is survived by son Stephen and wife Sandaren of Albuquerque, NM; daughter Susan Mathewson Grossman and her long-time companion, Jim Miller of Norman; and three grandchildren, Geoffrey Grossman of Norman, Athena Grossman Nelson of Oklahoma City, and Kyle Mathewson of Oklahoma City. He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 63 years, Alice, who died in July of this year.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Arbor House Reminisce in Norman who cared for “Doc” during the last few years of his life. He was a pleasant and cheerful resident who will be missed.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a memorial is planned for a later date with burial in Michigan.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to benefit the OU Department of Pediatric Dentistry may be made to the Richard J. Mathewson Enrichment Fund at the OU College of Dentistry, 1201 N. Stonewall Ave., Suite 514B, Oklahoma City, OK 73117 or online at link.ou.edu/mathewson
Share photos, stories, and memories of Dick at https://www.weremember.com/richard-dick-mathewson/7p1h/memories
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