A beloved husband and father, William Matthews (Willie), was born March 29, 1932 in Bocas del Toro, Panama, to Raymond Matthews and Geralda Matthews Prescott. He was the third of eleven children. He was married to his wife for 62 years, Evelyn Matthews, and they raised five daughters, Vielka, Nereida, Julissa (deceased), Brenda, and Marisol. He was blessed with 11 grandchildren, Scott Jr, Alonso, Kadeija, Issac, Lance, Maria (deceased), Victor Jr, Ezekiel, Leandro, Elias, Alex; and great-granddaughter, Kennedy.  He is also survived by his sisters, Alberta (Darlyn) Bryan, Sevelin (Silvia) Kelly; and nieces, nephews, and cousins.

In 1969, he started his career as an electrician for the Panama Canal Commission, where he retired from in 1988. That same year, he moved from Panama City, Panama to Brooklyn, New York. After arriving in New York, he decided to start working again doing various jobs until he permanently retired in 1997.

He was proud of being a Bocatorenio, his spirit remained very young, and he never gave up his independence. When people found out how old he was they would always say they wanted to be like him if they reached his age as they admired his independence and ability to continue to live life to the fullest regardless of his age.

He loved to walk and enjoyed exploring places. He also loved eating lots of fruits which contributed to his good health.  A few of his favorite fruits were avocado, coconut, banana, orange, grape, and sugar cane. We would tell him that was too much sugar, but he always said the fruits kept him young. His hobbies were playing dominoes, cards, bingo, lotto, and horse betting. A real Panamanian gambler. One of his favorite things to say was, "You got some money for me?". He loved music and was often playing music very loudly. He told lots of jokes, some inappropriate, and enjoyed making people laugh. He will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved him.

Family Tributes:

Evelyn: We spent a lifetime together, he was the love of my life, and my everything. In recent years, we have spent quality time together watching TV and listening to music. He always holds the remote control in his hands and falls asleep with it and when I try taking it away from him, he used to wake up and say, "I'm not sleeping."

Vielka: One of my favorite childhood memories was when we used to go to the family picnic, my mom and my dad would dance and I would go in between them, Dad would put me on his toes, and I would hug his legs and dance with both. I have so many memories of my dad, one of my other fun memories was the look of shock on his face when we went to Bocas in 2022, he couldn't believe how much it had changed and kept saying this was not the Bocas he knew.

Nereida: Dad always had a joke to say. Everything was a joke even during negative moments he could find something to joke about. Sometimes I would remind him that that joke didn't need to be said at that moment. He would say to me, "Don't worry about it." which was one of his favorite things to say. One of my recent special memories of my dad was taking him grocery shopping. He would jump in the shopper's electric grocery cart and drive around the entire supermarket having fun driving the cart like a kid. When it was time to leave, I would look for him in all the aisles and could not find him. He would finally show up with a big smile, with hardly any food in the cart, and said, "I forgot what I came to buy."

Scott Sr.: I have quite a few memories of Mr. Matthews' son, as he would often call himself. I remember coming into the house and he would say, how are you doing son? And our conversations would quickly turn into joking about money, alcohol, or coconuts.

Brenda: For me, my dad was a person who liked to do things the way he thought they should be. He loved to play dominoes, bingo, cards, and bet on horses. As we Panamanians would say a chinguiador. Whenever we were together, he would say, "Let's go to bingo." When he would lose, he joked, "Coño! Your mom prayed for me not to win so I could stop gambling."

Victor (Negro): Anytime I saw him he would say, "Hey, let's take a shot of Ron Abuelo!"

Marisol: My dad was very independent to the point where he never wanted to be told, where to go, what to do, or how to do it. He always said he was Mr. Matthews' son and that nothing would happen to him. He lived his life believing that age was just a number. He liked to take risks and would always say to us he knew what he was doing. Once he got older his independence didn't falter. He rarely wanted any help from his daughters, but we would step in when he allowed us to. One of my favorite memories of my dad is when we planned his 75th birthday party and, we managed to trick him. I went down to Miami with one of my good friends Sandy and he thought we were visiting for the weekend. Because he enjoyed walking and going to the beach, he took us all over Miami including the beach, and took us to Bayside. Then in the nighttime, we told him we were all invited to a formal party, but the party was for him. He was in such shock and was so happy. Later he tried to play it off like he knew. Since he loved to dance and sing, he had a blast with all of us.

Scotty: My grandpa was very annoying, he was annoying to me, and everyone else but always meant well. He didn't like to listen and was hardheaded.

Alonso: Grandpa was a funny man. I enjoyed all of his jokes and will miss his funny jokes.

Kadeija: My grandpa was a special character.  He could be a difficult person to get along with at times but as I got older, I realized his special form of communication was typically out of love and filled with great wisdom. He was a funny man, we used to joke around anytime I saw him. He enjoyed listening to music and would spend his time listening to all the oldies. He would also sing along to songs and occasionally change the lyrics by putting his spin on them. One of his favorite artists was Louis Armstrong and we would imitate playing a trumpet like Louis Armstrong. My grandpa loved spicy foods and would put hot sauce on his food without even checking if it was already spicy, he would say there is no such thing as too hot. My tolerance of spicy foods comes from eating directly from his plate when I was younger, I would pull up a chair beside him and we both eat from his plate of food together.

Issac, Ezequiel, and Elias: When Grandpa visited Ecuador, I remember him spending lots of quality time with us. He was always playing around and joking with us.

Lance: Although grandpa always greeted me asking, "You got money for me?" he did not hesitate to spend money on his grandchildren if he knew it would make them happy. For example, there was one time in Texas when we wanted to order pizza and Grandpa pulled out his wallet to pay when he found out we did not have enough money.

Junior: I remember when Grandpa was in Dallas and I came from work, he said to me, "Junior did you get paid today?" "Yes, why?" "Because you need to pay me."

Leo: My grandfather was hardheaded, but I believed it was part of his charm because he always stood for what he believed in. Every year he was there on my birthday, he reminded me to stand firm for what I believed in for myself.

Alex: I was told when I was a baby, my grandpa would pick me up and spin me like a helicopter. My grandma didn't like it, but my grandpa wouldn't listen. He used to call me Brandon because I look like my mom. My grandpa knew how to make good fried rice that was better than everyone else's, even better than my mom's. People used to say that I act like him and look like him. My grandpa would say that as well. I didn't believe them but now that he's passed away, I realize that I have his spirit and will in me. He was hardheaded but that was a strength of his that distinguished him from others. My grandpa was one of the funniest men I know. He always acted like a little kid when it came to sugar cane. Grandpa never seemed to listen to us but deep down, I knew he did because he would eventually do what we suggested. He always knew how to lift spirits even during bad times and never failed to bring a smile to our faces. Grandpa treated me like his own son and taught me a lot of things I won't forget. He told me he was fat just like me and I promised him I would lose weight for him. I plan on keeping that promise even though he's passed. His favorite saying was he's Mr. Matthews' son and I'm proud to call myself a Matthews. I love you grandpa, and hope I make it as far in life as you. Goodbye Grandpa.

Alexis: He was the life of the party and always knew how to bring up the mood. When he met his first great-granddaughter, Kennedy, he called her a little champion. I remember one, day when she was asleep, everyone was speaking loudly, and he came close to her and said we would wake up the champion.

Willie, my loving soul mate, I will miss you forever.

Dad, we will always miss you.

Grandpa, we are comforted knowing you are at peace resting with the Lord.