MATTESON, Eugene Allen

Daily Miner (Kingman AZ) Thursday, August 26, 2010 Eugene A Matteson of Kingman passed away tragically along with his two faithful companion dogs, Pudgy and Sky, in the early evening on Sunday, Aug 15, 2010. A loving husband, father, brother and uncle, Gene will be dearly missed by those he touched with his love. Gene was born Nov 15, 1949, to Robert and Ruth Matteson in Spokane, Wash. He moved with his family to Ohio then back to Montana, settling in Columbia Falls where he attended school and graduated from high school. After high school, he entered the Army Reserves and worked for Anaconda Aluminum in Columbia Falls. During this time he married Corinne Hartigan and to that union, his two girls, Shaunda and Jana, were born. After their divorce, Gene moved to South Carolina and worked for a number of years for Alcoa, retiring in 2002. While living in South Carolina, he found the Lord, became active in his faith community and touched many lives with his abundant love and kindness. In South Carolina, he married Heidi Mische, the love of his life, and after retirement, the two headed to Arizona, settling in Kingman. They enjoyed camping, traveling, being with family and living simply in the desert they came to call home. Gene was quite the handyman, so whenever anyone needed anything done, they called on him and Heidi. Gene and Heidi were always there, whether it was taking care of his mom, his grandkids or helping someone move, build or remodel. He was very proud of his family and took every opportunity to help all of them out. Our everlasting memory of Gene is the image of him wearing his favorite hat with his two dogs, Pudgy and Sky, sitting on his lap. Gene was preceded in death by his parents and a son-in-law, John Wenger. He is survived by his wife, Heidi Matteson; daughter, Shaunda Wenger and her spouse, David Ross, and children, Jacob and Kasey Wenger; and daughter, Jana Edmondson and her spouse, Kyle, and children Kian and Rio. His four brothers and their spouses also survive him: Gerry and Ginny Matteson of Fir Crest, Wash; Jeff and Josie Matteson of Mount Martha, Victoria, Australia; Jay and Susie Matteson of Kalispell, Montana; and Jon Matteson and Meg Valaer of Stansbury Park, Utah, and by his sister, Janice and Jim Keltner, also of Stansbury Park. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews who were very precious to him, known by their silly and lovable nicknames given to them by Gene; names they will cherish forever. Memorial services are scheduled at 11am Saturday, Aug 28, at St Johns Methodist Church in Kingman. The family will schedule a memorial in Kalispell at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations made in honor of Gene to: St Johns United Methodist Church, 1730 Kino Ave, Kingman, AZ 86409. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wickenburg (AZ) Sun Wednesday, August 18, 2010, p B-2 Jon Edward Bergen, 27, of Gilbert and Eugene Allen Matteson, 60, of Kingman were killed Sunday (Aug 15) when they were involved in a collision at milepost 93 on U.S. Highway 60 just north of Wickenburg. According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Bergen was traveling South on U.S. Highway 93 and crossed the center line colliding with Matteson, who was traveling north. Debris from the collision struck a third vehicle, though there were no injuries to that driver.