Letter: A Tribute to Fort Hunt Elementary's 'Mr. Matthews'

By Paul Dean

This past weekend I was truly saddened to learn of the , who was a  beloved School Aged Child Care (SACC) teacher at Ft. Hunt Elementary.  Known to everyone as “Mr. Matthews,” he was senselessly killed in a seemingly random act of violence in the prime of his life.

Outside of the families who have had children in the Ft. Hunt SACC program, the passing of Mr. Matthews caused little notice in our community.   He did not live in our neighborhood, hang out at our pools, or attend our churches.  However, for those of us that have been lucky enough to have him in our childrens’ lives for the past few years, we feel a tremendous sense of loss.  Mr Matthews was a true mentor to many children in the SACC program, including my twin boys.  As a SACC teacher, he took it upon himself to go beyond merely providing supervision – he always went the extra mile to engage the children in positive activities, and in the process taught many important life values.   He was always there to organize a foosball game, coach the flag football team, and organize games on the playground or in the gym, and all the while teaching values of sportsmanship, fair play and respect for others. 

When the kids acted up (which mine are known to do), Mr. Matthews would appropriately take them aside for punishment, but not without explaining to them why its important that they do things the right way.  And none of us will ever forget the artistic re-creation of the landscapes of several major European cities that he helped create as part of the SACC enrichment program.  My children adored Mr. Matthews, and as a parent, I felt a great sense of comfort that the kids spent such a significant part of every day with such a positive role model.  I personally will miss our morning chats about family, sports, the kids’ activities, or whatever else happened to be going on.

I hope that Mr. Matthew’s passing will serve as a reminder to us all to take the time to recognize and honor those who have an important impact on the lives of our children.   We all lead busy and hectic lives and spend a lot of time dealing with the many problems and challenges we face on a daily basis, leaving us little time to reflect on those things that are positive.  So to Mr. Matthews, I say thank you for who you were and all you have done to make my children better people, and to make our community a better place.   May you rest in peace.

Sincerely,

Paul J. Dean

8711 Waterford Road

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