Joseph William Matson

     Joseph William “Joe” Matson, also known to many as JW, a longtime resident of Trenton, passed peacefully on March 3, 2026, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney surround by family. Joe lived a long, full life shaped by devotion to his wife, Thelma, to his family, and to the many friends who were drawn to his humor, generosity, and steady presence. His story began on March 29, 1935, in Trenton, Nebraska, born to Clyde Benjamin and Dora Irene (Issac) Matson. He grew up in the Trenton and Culbertson communities and attended Trenton High School with the class of 1952.

     After leaving high school, Joe worked on the construction of the Trenton Dam before joining the United States Air Force in 1953, he completed training at Amarillo Air Force Base in Texas and McChord Air Force Base in Washington. His February 1954 deployment to Molesworth Air Force Base in England during the Korean War changed his life forever, because it was there, he met the love of his life, Thelma Farrington. They were married on August 18, 1956, at All Saints Church in Winwick, Cambridgeshire England, beginning a partnership marked by deep affection, unwavering loyalty, and a lifetime of shared adventures. Later that year they moved to the United States, eventually settling in Littleton, Colorado, where they raised their growing family for 17 years before returning to Nebraska in 1974. They had 69 and a half years together before Joe entered eternal life.

     Together, Joe and Thelma built a home filled with warmth, laughter, and open doors. To their union came four children: Gary Clyde, Charles Joseph, Kirt Donald, and Angela Irene, each raised with the values Joe lived by: hard work, kindness, humor, and love of family.

     Joe’s early memories of farm life stayed with him throughout his life. He often spoke of riding horses to school, helping with chores, and even carrying water to German POWs who worked on his parents’ farm during World War II. One of his favorite stories was helping dig out the basement of a neighbor’s house as a young man, never imagining he would one day own that very farm.

     Joe’s Air Force years gave him skills and confidence he carried into civilian life. He excelled in welding, especially stainless steel, and worked in construction and specialized industrial projects. His military background and security clearance allowed him to work on missiles for Martin Marietta, and later he traveled the country installing stainless steel kitchens. He and his construction partners even built the Littleton home he and Thelma cherished.

     Joe’s love for the outdoors was contagious. Summer weekends meant camping high in the mountains, boating, fishing, water skiing, and playing horseshoes with family and friends. Joe and Thelma spent many hours square dancing and laughing with friends while they were in Colorado. When the weather kept them home, the card table came out; Pitch, Pinochle, and Bridge were family staples, and no night was complete until someone “shot the moon.” Joe passed that love of cards to his children and grandchildren, creating memories that will be retold for generations.

     In 1974, Joe and Thelma returned to Nebraska to follow his lifelong pull back to farming. He purchased the Pronger Farm where he had helped dig the basement decades earlier just up the road from his parents’ place. Farming brought him joy: planting crops, working fields with the tractor, putting up hay, raising cattle, and driving the combine during harvest. Every grandchild and many great grandchildren and their friends got a cherished ride in Grandpa Joe’s combine. After retiring and moving into town in 2011, he and Thelma enjoyed traveling, camping with family in Oklahoma and Texas, visiting their children and grandchildren, and returning to England to see Thelma’s family.

     Joe will be remembered most for the way he loved people. He had a gift for making others smile, a quick wit, and a gentle humor that put everyone at ease. He made time for his siblings, his children, his grandchildren, and his many friends. Holidays at the Matson home were filled with laughter, stories, and the unmistakable feeling of belonging. Joe and Thelma created a home where everyone felt welcome.

     He was a proud member of the Trenton Methodist Church, VFW Post 7028, American Legion Post 337, and the Trenton Farmers Coop.

     Joe was preceded in death by his parents Clyde, and Irene (Isaac) Matson; sisters, Wyona (Dean) Shackelford and Neioma (Alan) Meguire; twin infant sisters, Angela Lorrain and Alvira Louise Matson; brother, Gaylord (Marilyn) Matson; in laws, Clifford Farrington, Tony and Vera Mills, Lawrence Allen, George and Mavis Garrett, Jeff Lyford, Brian Henegan, and David Mitchell; daughter in law, Kathy (Klooz) Matson, and nephew Jerry Shackelford.

     He is survived by beloved wife, Thelma; his sister, Gloria (Ron) Bricker; sisters in law, Iris Allen, Muriel (Vic) Morehen, Jean Lyford, Ruby Henegan, Janice Mackness and Jill Farrington; brother-in-law, Derek (Jane) Farrington; his four children: Gary (Susie) Matson of Elizabeth, CO; Chuck (Denise) Matson of Summerset, SD; Kirt (Shawna) Matson of McCook, NE; and Angela (Doug) Rufenacht of Peyton, CO; along with 15 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren, many nieces, nephews, extended family members, and lifelong friends.

     In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Trenton Methodist Church. Arrangements have been entrusted to Herrmann Jones Funeral Chapel of McCook. A Celebration of Life and Inurnment will be held on a future date.