Roll Call Tribute

Thomas Michael "Tom" Matthews 

May 20, 1943 - January 10, 2025 

Thomas Michael Matthews was born in Luling, Texas on May 20, 1943, and passed away at home in Conroe, Texas on January 10, 2025 after a short battle with bladder cancer.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Lucille Matthews.

Tom is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Sherry Klein Matthews; his daughters, Stephanie Matthews Burton and husband Monty, and Leslie Matthews Morgan and husband Ronnie; grandchildren, Matthew Burton, Ashley Burton, and Madison Morgan; brothers, John Matthews and wife Frances, Richard Matthews and wife DJ, and James Matthews and wife Cindy; and sisters, Sandra Thompson and husband Don, and Debra Bell and husband Rex.

Tom grew up on a ranch in Luling, Texas. He may not have been the strongest, but he was the smartest. After graduating as Valedictorian of his high school class, he hitchhiked to College Station, Texas to become a fightin’ Texas Aggie. Tom loved learning and made sure he was active in whatever the Engineering school had to offer. He also was an active member of the Singing Cadets. He graduated Texas A&M University in 1965 with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

After Texas A&M, Tom began his adventures in the oil and gas industry. These adventures started with Exxon in Tomball, Texas where he met a pretty blonde girl named Sherry at the Klein grocery store checkout. After some time courting, Tom married Sherry in the spring of 1968. The newly married couple then moved from the Houston area to Corpus Christi where their first daughter, Stephanie, was born. With direction from Exxon, Tom then loaded up his young family and moved to Southern California where their second daughter, Leslie, would be born. After an adventurous move to Alaska for work on the Trans Alaskan Pipeline, Tom moved the family back to Texas.

Back in Texas, Tom’s career flourished where he became a well-respected oil and gas Executive at Fortune 500 companies. He spent 8 years with Tenneco as President of Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company and Executive Vice President of Tenneco Gas. In the following 7 years, Tom would become Vice President of Texaco, President of Texaco Refining and Marketing, and President of Texaco Global Gas and Power. As a sought-after leader in his field, Tom was recruited to lead NGC Corporation as the President and COO with responsibilities of guiding their worldwide energy operations. That did not last long as he was once again recruited to a new opportunity in Spokane, Washington to lead an independent power, communications, and utility company. Tom became the Chairman and CEO of Avista Corporation and CEO of Avista Communications. He enjoyed the beauty of Washington and the many things the new environment brought, but would shortly head back to Houston to wrap up his illustrious career. He became Chairman and CEO of Link Energy, then Chairman of RigNet.

In his retirement years, he served on the boards of a number of organizations in advisory roles and enjoyed being active in local government. He embraced his community of Conroe, Texas and wanted to see it grow in the right direction. Tom also wanted to see his beloved Texas A&M University grow in the right direction. He was involved with the Engineering Advisory Council and Vision 2020.

Tom was a man of strong faith and shared his knowledge of the Bible. He was a long-time member of Resurrection Lutheran Church in Spring, Texas where he served in many leadership roles as well as providing a booming voice in the choir. He also lent his voice as a soloist on many occasions.

Tom was a great man who quietly helped others. He was the smartest man in the room. He was the best dad to his girls and the best Gramps to his 3 grandkids. He was proud of them and pushed them to make good decisions for their future.

A Memorial Service for Thomas will be held on Friday, January 24th at 10:30am at Resurrection Lutheran Church, 1612 Meadowedge Lane, Spring, TX 77388.