A quintessential Cougar engineer, Roy E. Matthews III (EE ‘76, ‘86) was a hands-on engineer, tinkerer, and determined problem-solver who cherished his time at WSU. His education impelled his five-decade career spanning power generation and cleanroom design.
When the Matthews family lost Roy unexpectedly, family and friends made donations in his name to his beloved alma mater. Approaching the five-year anniversary of his passing, Roy’s oldest son Roy Matthews IV and daughter-in-law Melissa Luu-Van realized the gifts made years ago were still waiting to be spent. They also realized they could make things happen to further honor their father and surprise their mother for Christmas.
“My father studied engineering at WSU because he was always curious about how things worked,” says Roy IV, who followed in his father’s footsteps to become an engineer. “What was most important to him, though, was using that knowledge to help others – whether it was delivering power to people’s homes or helping neighbors build a swing set. A scholarship for future WSU engineers was the perfect way to honor his legacy.”
Roy IV and Melissa teamed up with brother Bryan Matthews and his wife Ann to create a permanent scholarship in their father’s name: The Roy E. Matthews III Memorial Scholarship.
It took a big push to get it done in time to surprise their mother for Christmas. They presented the scholarship fund to Jayne Harmon-Matthews (WSU Business ‘77 and M.Ed. ‘93) and Roy’s sister, Christine Sargo, amidst tears.
“I lost it,” Jayne said, as she realized what her kids had done. “It blew me away. We had talked about doing something like this because we wanted to make sure that Roy is remembered.”
Wryly, she added, “Last year they gave me luggage.”
Jayne said it was no question that WSU was the right place to establish Roy III’s memorial.
“He was a die-hard Cougar. He bled Crimson and Gray,” she said.
Although WSU wasn’t Roy’s first choice for college, it was the right choice: he made lifelong friends, loved his professors, and met Jayne at WSU.
After only one dance
“Roy liked to embellish the story of how we met,” said Jayne. Her story needs no embellishment, however: “It was at a street dance and bonfire at WSU. I was at Stephenson, and he came charging up to me and asked me to dance.
“It was only one dance. He invited me to a football game, and we sat in front row seats on the 50-yard line with his fraternity brothers.” In just a few years, Roy and Jayne married.
One dance at WSU became an unexpected foundation for the career, family, and full life Jayne and Roy built together.
Now WSU’s Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture will provide at least one Roy E. Matthews III Scholarship every year. The endowed fund is a gift to students and a memorial to Roy. His son Roy IV said, “We feel fortunate to be able to share the opportunities my father had with other first-generation college students and grow the ranks of WSU engineers trying to build a better world.”