Arlen Gene Matthews

Arlen Gene Matthews
Arlen Gene Matthews of Cody, Wyoming died on April 5, 2023. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his brothers Neal and Verl. He is survived by his wife Darlene, daughter Sherry and son-in-law Dale Karst, and son Jim and daughter-in-law Kirstie Matthews.
We wish to thank St. John's Home Healthcare & Home Hospice. Their staff were so caring and compassionate. Also, a thank you goes out to the cancer center, & St. Vincent Staff. We are ever grateful to all of you for Arlen's loving care.
Written by Arlen Matthews
I was born December 16, 1939 in Pleasant Grove, Utah. I was the fourth son of Cornelius Baxter Matthews and Genevieve Lewis Matthews. My childhood was a happy one living in a house my parents built in "Little Denmark" next to my grandparents in Pleasant Grove. I had four brothers-Cornelius "Neal", twins Vern and Verl, and Marion. We also had a sister Geneal. My parents were good providers and we all grew up together.
There were many kids in the neighborhood who enjoyed the same things we did. One time some bigger kids blocked off the irrigation ditch and diverted the water into the ore dumps nearby where the ore was trucked in and loaded into rail cars for shipment. This made a sizeable pond 10 to 15 feet deep and several hundred feet long. There was only one alternative left for us and that was to make rafts to sail on our new-found lake. We were in the middle with one of our rafts when somebody stood up and we capsized. I did the only natural thing, being I couldn't swim, crawling on the bottom until I reached the shore. I had to endure the name "mud crawler" for some time thereafter.
I had a small black pony that was really fast. My brothers and I rode horses on the weekends when we were in school and worked hard in the summer putting up hay, grain and picking cucumbers.
I was baptized on 1/18/48 and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I became a Deacon on 12/16/51, a priest on 12/18/53, a teacher on 12/5/54, and an elder on 3/15/59.
I graduated from High School in May, 1958 when I was 18. I than went to LDS Business College in Salt Lake City for one year. It was while in business college on July 20th that my father died of a heart attack at the age of 55. I wanted to try my businees knowledge and skills and went to work in the oil business working for Husky Oil Company in Cody, Wyoming, in August 1959.
It was while working at Husky in April, 1960 that I met Darlene. We went together and had some good times. We got married on February 18, 1961 in Basin, Wyoming.
In March 1963, the President of the United States sent me greetings. I was being drafted in the the Army. I spent my Army basic training at Fort Ord, California and my on-the-job training in Fort Lee, Virginia. We really had fun touring the Civil War battlefields, Williamsburg, Jamestown, and seeing the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach. On our drive back to Wyoming in October 1963, we stopped in Washington, DC and spent some special times together knowing I had to report to Oakland, California. I had orders for Korea on Thanksgiving Day. After spending 21 days on the Pacific in a troop ship, we landed at Inchon, Korea. I was sent to Seoul and stationed at Eighth U.S. Army Headquarters. It was during this year in Seoul I was temporarily assigned to the staff of General Howze, a four-star General and Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army forces in Korea and the United Nations Command. It was really interesting work. When my year was up and after another 22 days on the ship, my wife met me in San Fancisco and we celebrated the December 14, 1964 "Civilian Day."
We went back to Cody and to Hucky Oil Company. On November 8, 1965, our firstborn arrived-Sherry Lee Matthews. What a package she was! On March 5, 1969, our secondborn arrived-James Arlen Matthews. We went through all the things young parents do with two kids. Sherry was very quiet and reserved and Jim was the direct opposite-you always knew when he was around.
In 1973 we were promoted and transferred to Spokane, Washington with Husky Oil. In December of 1974, we were transferred back to Cody, Wyoming. We spent some good times camping, golfing, and hunting. In October 1977, the wanderlust took over again, and we moved to BIllings, Montana. We went into the real estate business associated with Floberg Realtors.
In April 1979, we decided we missed our friends and home of Cody and decided to return again. Also after spending 18 years in the oil business, I must have some of that black oil in my veins. I went back to work for Husky Oil as head of their Heavy Oil Marketing Department.
In 1986, I became employed by Flying J Oil Company and worked in Cheyenne, Wyoming and later in Salt Lake City, Utah. I worked for them until my retirement in 1993. We moved back to Cody, Wyoming. I enjoyed doing seasonal work for the City of Cody until 2012 when I fully retired. We enjoyed our retirement camping and traveling.
We moved to Billing, Montana in July 2022 to be closer to our family. He was a caring and devoted husband, a loving and wonderful dad, and a friend to all, helping others any way he could. We look forward to the day when we'll be with him again.