Richard Howard Matchette

Richard Matchette, 82, of Bethlehem passed away peacefully in his home on Thursday, October 16, 2025. He was the loving, devoted husband of 55 years to Beverly Matchette, and the son of the late Walt and Sara Matchette. He spent his childhood growing up in Easton and attended Easton High School. In his late High School years, he enjoyed volunteering with the Easton Emergency Squad. He then served our country as a Sergeant in the United States Army for several years before returning home and attending Penn State University.
The bulk of his professional career was spent with the IRS. Upon retirement, he enjoyed working part-time in the Accounting Department at the Bethlehem YMCA.
He was a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Easton and put his faith in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Survivors include his loving wife, Beverly, sons Jim (wife Alicia and granddaughters Molly and Makenzie) and Dave (wife Sarah and grandsons Kenan, Ezra, Jude and granddaughter Eden).
He thoroughly enjoyed any time spent with family. He and Beverly faithfully attended all of their sons' sporting events over the years. He cherished his opportunities to challenge Dave and the grandsons in rousing games of chess, or battling the granddaughters in Chinese Checkers or in card games. He loved taking walks around the neighborhood, hand-in-hand with Beverly, where he would be sure to pet every single dog along the way. He also enjoyed puttering around his garden which yielded the tastiest tomatoes in the Lehigh Valley!
A private viewing will be held at James Funeral Home on Thursday, October 23 followed by a public graveside service at 1:45pm in Bethlehem Memorial Park Cemetery - graveside is in Nativity Section, located at the corner of Dewberry Ave and Madison Ave. Please park on Madison Ave. There will be a Memorial Service and luncheon at a future date to be held at Calvary Baptist Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Lighthouse TV (lighthousetv.org), Calvary Baptist Church (calvarybaptistpa.org) or WJCS 89.3 (wjcs.org).