John A. Matthews

Obituary of John A. Matthews

On November 17th, John and I celebrated 46 years of marriage. On November 18th, John passed away. I am heartbroken, We are heartbroken. He was diagnosed with cancer in February. He fought a hard battle. He endured pain but never complained. That was his forte in Life. He was the hardest working man I ever knew. We shared a life that required discipline; farming does that. For 45 years, our lives revolved around our two boys Adam and Jared, parents, family and the seasons. Our wedding date was no exception. November was the season that most of the harvest was completed. Potatoes were in the storage, soybeans were combined and there seemed to always b some field corn left to finish. When the boys were young, there were evenings I packed up a supper while John finished combining wheat late into the evening. We would all climb into the harvester to make some rounds and chat about our day. THAT was our family time when he was busy. We didn't take long vacations..we waited for grandpa to say "let's go the mountains for the weekend". We had many years of special moments baiting hooks while the boys fished off the dock. Camp was our special place. When he decided to retire from farming, we were thrilled to spend a week at a time up north. We bought kayaks and paddled mornings. We were never in each others pockets all the time. I learned early on to be independent and entertain myself. We had horses and the boys joined Pony Club until they left for college. John would bring home the Bobcat and I developed gardens and mulched everything. We always had projects to work on when he wasn't in the fields. It wasn't an easy life, but it was real. Less than 24 hours ago I lost the Man I will always Love. John wanted to do hospice at home. We ALL stepped up to the plate to make it happen. It wasn't easy and I couldn't have managed without our boys. They shopped, cooked, drove us to Dr. appointments and honored John and I with their assistance and presence thru this journey. Special friends were at our door to visit, share memories and complete projects that freed us of many worries like patching our roof leak.Other farmer friends showed up with tools to put in hand rails, ramps, or just reporting the crop problems they were facing from a wet spring and a dry summer. Amazing neighbors mowed our pasture. Childhood friends reminisced by phone from miles away. Past roommates brought laughter of the good times that were pretty wild. John treasured these relationships. Our nephews showed up with wood for winter. Food was delivered and everyone continues to ask how they can help support us. Thank you to everyone. It meant the world to John having deep friendships with so many people who loved him and us. He is free of pain now. We will continue as a family, but a huge part will be missing. We will cherish our memories. We will always love what we had and forge a future in this journey of life. Thank you to all who helped us thru the heartbreak. We Love you all!

John served on Empire State Potato Growers Assoc. between 1986 -2018. He served as President, Vice President and on various committees, including, but not limited to Empire Farm Days, Research and Development, Marketing and Promotion and was actively involved in multiple aspects of the Association.

He was also directly involved for many years with ' Friends Burial Ground' located on Quaker Meeting House Road in Mendon.We want to thank all the nurses who cared for John during his illness. Whether they were affiliated with the Infusuon Center, Home Care or Hospice, John always personally said "Thank you for taking such good care of me". The love and gentle care they gave will never be forgotten. They are true 'Angels'.

John is predeceased by parents Russell and Marcella Matthews, and brother Bill. He is survived by wife Cindy, sons Adam and Jared, granddaughter Piper, sister Margaret (Peggy) Entrekin, loving neices and nephews and extended family.

Friends may call Friday, November 28, 2025 from 3-6 pm with a time for sharing memories starting at 5 pm at the Merton H. Kays Funeral Home, Inc. 59 Monroe Street, Honeoye Falls. In lieu of flowers, please, if you will consider making a donation to the Wilmot Cancer Center at Strong memorial Hospital in John's memory. He would have liked that very much.

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