Obituary of Amos Mathewson

By Kevin Pearson The Press-Enterprise Amos "Bud" Mathewson, the Banning icon whose department was a fixture in the San Gorgonio Pass community and who unsuccessfully ran for a congressional seat more than a dozen times, died Monday morning. He was 88. Mr. Mathewson, who had been in poor health for some time, was transferred Sunday from an assisted living facility to San Gorgonio Hospital in Banning. Born in Butte, Mont., Mr. Mathewson served in the U.S. Army during World War ll. After the war, he returned to Montana and later stopped in the Reno, Nev., area. Trained as a jeweler, he moved to Banning 60 years ago and became a fixture in the community with Mathewson's department store, a downtown business that became a haven for new and used item ranging from watches to lamps to televisions and clothing. Over the past six decades, Mr. Mathewson garnered a reputation as a charitable man who unsuccessfully ran for Congress at least 14 times. In recent years, he put together a historical collection on the city of Banning that will be forwarded to the Banning Public Library. "He was a God-fearing man who walked and breathed the attributes of God," said his niece, Neila Collins, of Sparks, Nev., who was in Banning over the weekend to visit her uncle. "He believed in giving back to his community and his fellow man," Collins said. "He would give his shirt off his back to someone who needed it more than him." He also was active in the Masons, the Banning Chamber of Commerce, the San Gorgonio Pass Historical Society and other community organizations. Mr. Mathewson fell ill over the past several years and his department store was shut down in January because of numerous code-enforcement violations. In ailing health, he eventually left his apartment above the store and moved in with Banning Mayor Barbara Hanna before taking up residence in an assisted living facility. Mr. Mathewson's survivors include his niece and one sister, Ruth Keith, 90, of Sparks, Nev.