Thomas Lee Mathews, age 93 of Howard Street, Grafton, WV passed away Monday, June 4, 2018 at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, WV.
He was born October 16, 1924 in Grafton, WV a son of the late Alexander Church Mathews and Laura Grace (Gartland) Mathews.
Tom is survived by two nephews, Richard T. Hathaway and wife Helen, of Grafton and Tom Beverlin and wife, Sheryl, of Casco, MI; one niece, Joyce Clark of Maryville, TN; also survived by several great- nieces and great- nephews and great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews.

In addition to his parents, he was proceded in death by six sisters and two brothers.

After graduating from Grafton High School with the Class of 1942 he went to work for the Hazel Atlas Glass Co. in Grafton until August 1943 when he was sworn into the Army. From Fort Hayes, OH he was shipped to Camp Blanding, FL for infantry training. He was then transferred to Fort Meade, MD and onto Newport News, VA, then to Naples, Italy. From there he was assigned to the 45th Infantry Division Company E, 180th Infantry as a rifleman. His division was part of the armed forces on Anzio Beachhead when the push off to Rome started in May of 1944. After reaching Rome, his unit was sent back to the southern part of Italy for amphibious training through the summer of 1944. In August of 1944, he was loaded on troop transport to be part of the invasion of Southern France. On September 12, 1944 he was caught in an ambush and captured. He was held as a POW until April 29, 1945. He was discharged on December 10, 1945. Tom was hired by the State of West Virginia Department of Employment Security on April 22, 1946. In November 1950, he was recalled to active duty as he had joined the Reserve Unit in Grafton. He was then shipped to Okinawa. In September 1951 he was discharged and returned to his employment with the Department of Employment Security. He retired in 1983 with 38 years of service.

He was a life member of the VFW Memorial City Post 3081 of Grafton, a member of the Barbed Wire Mountaineers, the West Virginia Ex-Prisoners of War where Tom ranked Adjunctant, and the Taylor County Post 12 American Legion.
Since October 1987, he has been active with the Taylor County Honor Guard with Military Funerals at the National Cemeteries in Grafton. To date, Tom has participated in over 2100 funerals honoring fallen comrades.
The Memorial Day Committee was proud to honor Tom as the Parade Marshall for the 2015 Memorial Day Parade.

He was a member of the First Christian Church in Grafton. He was an avid golfer, bowler, enjoyed traveling, and WVU football.

The family will receive friends at the Donald G. Ford Funeral Home in Grafton on Thursday, June 7th from 3:00 -8:00 p.m. and from 10:00 a.m. until the funeral hour on Friday.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, June 8, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Jeff Hanlin officiating.
Interment will follow at the Woodsdale Memorial Park in Grafton.
Military graveside services will be conducted by the Taylor County Honor Guard and the Army National Guard Honor Guard of Camp Dawson, WV.

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