John Mathis

1952 - 2022

John Nold Mathis, age 69, passed away on Saturday, September 17, 2022 in San Antonio, Texas. He was born on October 8, 1952 in San Antonio, Texas. John was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur Mathis, Jr. and Lorene Jones Mathis, and his brother, Arthur Tobin Mathis. John is survived by his sister, Jessie Kardys and her husband, Richard; his nephews, Chris Kardys, and his wife, Sarah and children, Jack, Grace, and Claire; and Dr. Clark Kardys and his wife, Alex, and their daughter, Anna Bell.
John was blessed with curiosity, a superior intellect, and a great ear for music and sound. He was interested in science and cutting-edge technologies. At a young age, John read every issue of Popular Mechanics and applied the principles learned on several projects. John studied his father's architecture drawings and often accompanied him on inspections of projects. In high school he taught himself radio and electronics fabrication.
John spent his weekends playing guitar and drums in a band or working for the JAM Factory, the top performance and concert venue in San Antonio, as a sound and light technician. They worked with regional, national, and British artists and locals like Chris Geppert aka Christopher Cross, ZZ Top, Joe Crocker, and Leon Russel. He graduated from Alamo Heights High School and studied Computer Programming and System Analysis at San Antonio College. He made great friends playing in "Home Cooking" and "Gone City" bands for years and played on the South Texas Dance Hall Circuit in 1980.
Working for the Electric Machine Music Store, John worked with Luthier Music Synthesizers and became the Sound Engineer and Manager for the first large venue Rental Sound System in San Antonio. They provided sound systems and technical support to countless events and artists, indoors and outdoors, including the opening of "The Sunken Gardens Amphitheater," the largest scale music venue in the city. He later worked with the Alice and Wonderland Rock Opera, and became the audio engineer for the San Antonio Theater Club at HemisFair. Over the next six years, they produced over 350 performances.
John acquired the first 500-seat sized sound system for hire in San Antonio and later joined United Audio Recording creating all the Broadcast and Commercial tracks for local TV/Radio ads. He recorded music sessions for production of demo tapes for bands with whom he played and many Tejano groups. At UAR and Pran Audio/Visual in New Braunfels, he worked on the highly popular, landmark AV Project, "San Antonio Is", for the Witte Museum and continued with its technical maintenance for years. He gained early television production experience while working with "Daddy's Showcase of the Stars," a Studio 54 style venue featuring national and British artists' live performances. This led to 13 years of Live TV Tejano Music Awards productions that eventually expanded to the Alamodome. He served as a team member of the Install and Redesign Team for the Alamodome and the Head Audio and Event Engineer for the three years producing the light and sound for Spurs Games, NFL Games, Monster Truck Shows, and rock concerts, such as Pink Floyd.
Since 1984, John's focus included being part of teams designing permanent commercial installations. These opportunities were offered through the FCA Group – Consultants for the Arts; Crews Folsom & Associates. (The SMU Bob Hope Auditorium, Houston's Jones Hall, Austin City Limits, and USAA Distance Learning and Television Studio were among the projects); and Media Specialties which supplied all equipment and tech support for major events. His favorite and most challenging experiences involved The Papal Visit and Mass and the George Strait Concert at Sea World.
Computer aided audio and lighting design projects (CAD) began with Texas Scenic and in California with Strand Lighting and Teatronics Lighting International, and continued with Associates & Crews (Moody Mansion UTMB Distance Learning Center, Fox Theater – Waco, San Pedro Playhouse, Bexar County Commissioner's Court, and St. Mark's Episcopal Church); and the San Antonio Office of WJHW of Dallas (Gaylord Texan – Grapevine, Harris County Community Colleges, Fox Theater - Hutchisson, Kansas). His work continued with Southwest Sound and San Antonio Sound and Light on a variety of churches, theatrical sites, colleges, and civil projects.
One of John's last A/V Design projects was for the Aransas County Courthouse and Rockport City Hall Complex in Rockport, Texas, where John's great grandfather, Thomas Henry Mathis, was one of the founders in 1870. Recently, John also generously donated his time and talent to record oral histories for the Oral History Project about his uncle, Walter Nold Mathis, for Villa Finale: Museum and Gardens. He also continued his 11 years as an Enagic Distributor and owner of Kangen Water of Alamo Heights. How amazing that a childhood love of computers, music, and electronics would lead to such an interesting and meaningful career! Thank you to his friends and mentors - Robin Crews, Steve Simpson, Mark Stevens, Keith O'Brien, John Ramirez, Travis Blair, and Gary Sutton.
The family wishes to express our deepest gratitude to Dr. Jorge Alvarez, and the doctors, nurses, and staff of Methodist Hospital and Matt Jendrusch and the staff at Stratton Physical Therapy for their expert care for John.
MEMORIAL SERVICE
THURSDAY,
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
1:00 P.M.
ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
1018 E GRAYSTON ST.
The Rev. John Badders will officiate. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Paul's Episcopal Church Montessori School, 1018 E Grayson Street, 78208; Alamo Heights School Foundation. 7101 Broadway, 78209; or the charity of your choice.
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the Guestbook at
www.porterloring.com
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