Obituary of Lonnie Turner Matthews

Lonnie (L. T. )Matthews was born on October 8, 1932 to Lonnie Turner Matthews, Sr. and Katie Spivey Matthews in Durham County North Carolina. His life ended on March 2, 2014 at Alamance Regional Hospital, Burlington, NC. In addition to his parents he was predeceased by two brothers, Clifton and Earl, and a sister, Doris Carver. He is survived by his wife of 59 years the former Betty Blomquist, two sisters, Geraldine Tyren and Katherine O'Briant, three children: Eric (Kalyn), Michael (Sarah) and Margaret Engelbrekt (Alan), six grandchildren: Cameron Matthews (Lauren), Nicola Matthews, David Matthews, Grace Matthews, Benjamin Engelbrekt, and Isabel Engelbrekt. L. T. attended Durham Public Schools graduating from Durham High School in 1951. He graduated from NC State University in 1955 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with an option of Heating and Air Conditioning. In the fall of 1955 he was employed by the E. I. Du Pont deNemors Corporation in Martinsville, VA as a Design Engineer in the Textile Fiber Nylon Manufacturing Division. In 1956 he was drafted into the United States Army, received Basic Training at Fort Jackson, SC and subsequently was sent to Fort Eustis, VA in the Training Research Transportation Division. Upon his discharge from the Army in 1958 he returned to Du Pont until March 1959 when he was employed at Duke University, Durham, NC as an Assistant Engineer in the Maintenance Department where he worked for 10 years until he was selected as Director of Engineering and Operations for the Duke University Medical Center in which position he worked until his retirement in 1995. As the medical field began to blossom from 1960-1980, L. T. was proud of his involvement with the growth of the Medical Center particularly as a participant in the construction of the Duke North Medical Facility. The funeral will be at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough, NC on Saturday, March 22 at 2:00 PM with a reception at the church following the service. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to St. Matthew's General Memorial Fund or The Tree of Life at Twin Lakes Retirement Community, Burlington, NC. www.walkersfuneralservice.com/