CORTLAND AINSWORTH MATHERS

MATHERS, Cortland Ainsworth Sr. Superior Court Justice Age 92, of Brockton, died peacefully on March 12, 2017, at home surrounded by his loving family. Cortland was the beloved husband for 68 years of Carolyn Mary (Campbell) Mathers. Born and raised in Newton, he was the only son of the late Laurence Randolph and Lucille (Baldwin) Mathers. Cortland attended Newton Public Schools and was a 1941 graduate of Newton High School. He attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and after his first two years enlisted in the United States Army to fight in World War II. He received the Good Conduct Medal, the Victory Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with one Bronze Service star for his honorable service. Cortland then returned to Bowdoin where he received a bachelor's degree in English. He later enrolled in the Boston University School of Law where he received his LLB in 1952.

Cortland practiced law as a solo practitioner until 1964 when he and Attorney William K. Mone formed Mone & Mathers, PC. In 1984 he was appointed to the Superior Court by Governor Michael Dukakis where he served until his retirement in 1994, acting for a time as Regional Administrative Justice. During his years practicing law, Cortland served terms as the President of the Plymouth County Bar Association and the Vice President of the Massachusetts Bar Association. He contributed to his adopted hometown of Brockton in various capacities: as a member of the Brockton School Committee during challenging years spent planning and building a new high school; as Brockton City Solicitor during the mayoralty of Jack Yunits; as chair of a $12 million capital campaign to renovate the Brockton Public Library in 2003; and as a board member and pro bono legal counsel for the Fuller Craft Museum. In his retirement, he worked as a mediator and arbitrator, principally for JAMS/Endispute in Boston. He enjoyed fly fishing, horseback riding, flying single engine airplanes, restoring antique aircraft and automobiles, and traveling the world. He was a life long advocate of social justice and cherished his family above all else. For over a decade he supervised the care of his ill wife in their home.

In addition to his wife, Cortland is survived by his children Christina Mathers and her husband Richard Suter of Brookline, Christopher C. Mathers and his partner James Riley of Brockton, Carrie Mathers-Kurland and her husband David Kurland of Barrington, RI, Cortland A. Mathers, Jr. of Framingham, Craig Mathers and his late wife Maria Griffin of Boston, and the Honorable Edmund "Chuck" Mathers and his wife Susan of Easton; eleven grandchildren, Morgan Suter and his wife Ann, Rachel Suter and her husband Renaud, Cate Suter and her husband Todd, Carrie Robbins and her husband Hugh, Cortland Mathers-Suter, Micaela and Claudia Kurland, Kevin and Lilly Mathers, and Christina Carrie and Nicollette Mathers; six great grandchildren Olivier and Sebastien Suter-Ternynck, Rachel Suter, Charlotte and Cortland Borenstein, and Cortland Robbins. He also leaves his sister-in-law, Joyce Horton, of Nantucket and his cousin, Clare Chapman, of Cambridge. His family would like to extend a special thank you to Candace Spencer, Heidy Suriel, Cynthia Cabrera, Dodi Doherty, Annemarie Robey, Margaret Furber and Miladis Jimenez for the love, care, and many good laughs they provided Cortland as his strength waned.

Friends are invited to a celebration of his life on Monday, March 20, 2017 at 3 p.m. at the Fuller Craft Museum. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Fuller Craft Museum, 455 Oak Street, Brockton, MA 02301, Attn: Development Department, or to the Brockton Library Foundation, P.O. Box 202, Brockton, MA 02303. For online condolences and directions, please visit www.conleyfuneralhome.com or on Facebook at Conley Funeral & Cremation Service.