Fred Matthies

Aug. 29, 1927 - Nov. 16, 2022

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Fred Matthies August 29, 1927-November 16, 2022 Fred Matthies spent his final days among loved ones in the comfort of his Portland, Oregon home. After a long battle with congestive heart failure, he died peacefully on November 16th. Though not a superstitious man, Fred liked to point out that he was born in the Year of the Rabbit– August 29th, 1927 – and that luck had smiled on him all his life. There is a strong case to be made that he was right! For starters, he was adopted from Holy Cross Hospital in Spokane, Washington by Silas and Myrtle Matthies, a prosperous couple from the area. They loved Fred as if he were their own, and he had no idea he’d been adopted until he was an adult. It is said that adopting a child can improve the odds of conceiving one, and sure enough, Fred was blessed with a little brother named Si in 1930. The family moved to Ogden, Utah in 1931, where, despite the country’s severe economic woes, Fred spent a mostly idyllic youth playing baseball, hunting, and getting into mischief with his brother. He also developed a keen interest in astronomy, and it would become a favorite hobby, along with golf, for decades to follow. Fred was in high school when WWII broke out. He recalled the

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