Written By
Gordon Dean McCormack, II
Dutch, Jan and T-Bucket
Having heard stories about you from my mom and Aunt Kathy, all my life, Uncle Floyd, it has been a real pleasure to meet you and come to know you. Coming to the family reunions for the past several years, getting to announce my marriage to the family, becoming a part of such a large family and seeing your dedication to bringing our family together has been an real inspiration in my life.
It's very easy to see how you raised through the ranks of the Navy; from an enlisted man to an officer. The way you became a leader with both the VFW and American Legion when you retired; by the active part you still play with your Navy ‘mates’; and by the way you continue to lead our family that you are truly a wonderful patriarch for our family. It takes dedication, faith and the ability to conduct yourself as a gentleman to be a true leader. And you don't get the title of "Skipper" without these traits.
So here's wishing you a "Happy Birthday" and "Thank You" for sharing such a rich and interesting life with us.
It's very easy to see how you raised through the ranks of the Navy; from an enlisted man to an officer. The way you became a leader with both the VFW and American Legion when you retired; by the active part you still play with your Navy ‘mates’; and by the way you continue to lead our family that you are truly a wonderful patriarch for our family. It takes dedication, faith and the ability to conduct yourself as a gentleman to be a true leader. And you don't get the title of "Skipper" without these traits.
So here's wishing you a "Happy Birthday" and "Thank You" for sharing such a rich and interesting life with us.
Written By
Jan Deanne Murphy McCormack
I met you, Uncle Floyd, for the first time at the 1998 family reunion in Loretto. From the first moment we were introduced, I felt like you accepted me with open arms and a genuine, warm hearted welcome.
I remember being impressed with the fact that you had bought a riding lawnmower a couple years before and that all the years prior you had done all that yard work the hard, old fashioned way. I was further impressed upon reading the wonderful book you and Vena wrote about your life in the Navy and your 'honeymoon' trip down the waterways from Knoxville to Florida. You are in such remarkably good health, and seem to truly enjoy getting together with your family and friends.
I also had the good fortune to meet your younger brother, Roy, as well. I only wish that I had gotten to meet him sooner, but it has left me with the understanding that we must cherish every moment we can with each of our loved ones.
I truly appreciate the times we have all shared, and the acceptance I have received from you all.
Written By
Janice (Jan) Agnew Matthews McCormack
It was the summer of 1943 or 1944 and WWII was still going on. My sister, Kathy, and I were living with Mom and Dad in San Diego, California. We, like the rest of the country were experiencing the regular “black outs”, rationing, shortages and all that goes with a war. I must have been about eight or nine years old, I think. You and Aunt Nora were living in Napa, CA, a town close to San Francisco, where you were stationed in the Navy. John was just a 'sprout', running around being so cute with all those red curls. Bill is about Kathy's age, with me two years older, and Matt, well, he was much, much too old to bother with any of us ‘little’ kids.
I am not sure if you were home from the war or if your ship was just in port before returning to the war, as it was not over yet. Mama, Daddy, Kathy and I came up to Napa to visit you that summer. Since California is always so nice and warm, everyone spends a lot of time either at the beach or in their swimming pools. However, with all the time I had spent at the beach and all the swimmers I had seen (and have seen since), no one ever impressed me with their swimming ability as you did. I have loved the water all my life and while we visited in Napa, it seemed like we spent a lot of time in the water. You were my 'fitness' mentor, I think. I wanted to swim like you, be fit like you and be military like you!
What I remember most about that trip, and the swimming, was the way you could sink to the bottom of the pool and just lay there, without moving, without rising to the top and, most importantly, without drowning. It seemed to me that you could stay under water forever. Of course, we know that is not possible, but as young as I was at the time, it sure seemed like it to me. Oh, to be able to swim like you and hold my breath like that!
There are many memories after we moved to Alabama and then on up to Tennessee. And many of them revolve around the time when you lived on the “farm” at Busby. I loved spending weekend days at your house, sitting in the apple trees with a shaker of salt, talking with Bill and sometimes getting a stomach ache. It was fun, getting to “run wild” in your big yard, chasing with the big dog, Lassie, just being kids even though I was in High School.
I enjoyed the walk, both out to the 'farm' and up the hill to your house after you became “townies”. I remember iced tea on the front porch and listening to John practicing being a DJ with his recorder. All that practice certainly paid off, didn't it?
I was away from the family for so many years, after I graduated high school, busy with my life, “seeing the world”, having new adventures, raising my family, and then in 1993, you had that fantastic reunion at your house in Pensacola, on the Lanai, where I “came home” again. I managed to get 'home' to most of the reunions after that, except two, when I was not up to par. Now I am 'home' again, in the South, and am able to take a more active part in this special family and able to be a part of your life, Uncle Floyd.
Thank you for your family leadership and inspiration! You are certainly a role model for all our younger generations.
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I am not sure if you were home from the war or if your ship was just in port before returning to the war, as it was not over yet. Mama, Daddy, Kathy and I came up to Napa to visit you that summer. Since California is always so nice and warm, everyone spends a lot of time either at the beach or in their swimming pools. However, with all the time I had spent at the beach and all the swimmers I had seen (and have seen since), no one ever impressed me with their swimming ability as you did. I have loved the water all my life and while we visited in Napa, it seemed like we spent a lot of time in the water. You were my 'fitness' mentor, I think. I wanted to swim like you, be fit like you and be military like you!
What I remember most about that trip, and the swimming, was the way you could sink to the bottom of the pool and just lay there, without moving, without rising to the top and, most importantly, without drowning. It seemed to me that you could stay under water forever. Of course, we know that is not possible, but as young as I was at the time, it sure seemed like it to me. Oh, to be able to swim like you and hold my breath like that!
There are many memories after we moved to Alabama and then on up to Tennessee. And many of them revolve around the time when you lived on the “farm” at Busby. I loved spending weekend days at your house, sitting in the apple trees with a shaker of salt, talking with Bill and sometimes getting a stomach ache. It was fun, getting to “run wild” in your big yard, chasing with the big dog, Lassie, just being kids even though I was in High School.
I enjoyed the walk, both out to the 'farm' and up the hill to your house after you became “townies”. I remember iced tea on the front porch and listening to John practicing being a DJ with his recorder. All that practice certainly paid off, didn't it?
I was away from the family for so many years, after I graduated high school, busy with my life, “seeing the world”, having new adventures, raising my family, and then in 1993, you had that fantastic reunion at your house in Pensacola, on the Lanai, where I “came home” again. I managed to get 'home' to most of the reunions after that, except two, when I was not up to par. Now I am 'home' again, in the South, and am able to take a more active part in this special family and able to be a part of your life, Uncle Floyd.
Thank you for your family leadership and inspiration! You are certainly a role model for all our younger generations.
Top of Page
Written By
Jesse Everett Clayton, Jr.
As a child, I had heard of Floyd Matthews, who was away in the Navy but never met the “Uncle Floyd”. My mother, Maggie, spoke of him often. My grandmother’s, (Virgie Matthews Perry), house was a major gathering place for the family, so I knew Price, Solon, Roy John, Ad, and Viola. I never met Bob or Sharpe and Nora died just after I was born. I grew up knowing her family since they were very close to Grandmother's family.
After my father died, Mother moved our family to Illinois. This was shortly after you retired and returned to Tennessee, so I didn't get to meet you then.
Only when, in my early 60's, did I meet you at one of the early reunions at Roy Matthews’s house, in Loretto, TN. You got my attention, as you sat across the table, and told in detail your tale about the decision to leave the Haskins' home on Knob Creek to seek work in Florence, Ala. It was at that reunion that Bud Slagle and Tom Stanford loaned me their treasure of old Matthews's family photos. I copied them and shared them at the next reunion, learning much about the family through those photos.
At the next few reunions I appreciated your role in making everyone feel so much a part of this big family and your apparent joy at being with your family. Your prayers touched me as did your capacity to make us all feel comfortable and that we belonged.
When we met at Roy's house, it was my first time to see him since I was a child and I wanted much to get to know him. When Bill and I did the video interview with Roy he told us so much about you, himself, and Viola during the years following your mother's death. Roy loaned me his copy of your “memories” book and I took it to mother's and read it through that night.
That fall after the reunion at Loretto, we went to Roy's where Bill and I did a video of your story. Around that time my Aunt Mary discovered an old photo of a Matthews’s family gathering at Uncle John's house when I was about 8 years old. I was amazed to find myself in the picture beside Roy with Gene standing between us. I was determined to get to know Roy much better, but he passed that winter. I had seen him in the hospital a few days earlier and planned on going to Lawrenceburg to see him the day he passed.
I feel indebted to you and the reunion leaders for the few times with him because he and you have given me a renewed appreciation for a part of my family I only knew by names and stories.
I had met Irma Plott twice before the reunions and communicated some on family history. It was good to meet some of her family and some of Dr. Jim's family. It is always great to meet family you have never known and really appreciate that you will get to know them better through the reunions. Without the reunions I know of no way I could have gotten to know the descendants of you, Roy, Viola, Sharpe, Bob, Price, and Solon. And now Jan tells us she has located descendants of Frances Rosine Matthews Hughes, a sister of John Houston, Jim, and Marion.
I have enjoyed the reunion visits, but am especially excited about the photos, videos and now this book we are presenting to you. A highlight for me was 1999 when we got a “5 generation” photo of Mother, me, my daughter, Linda, with her children and you standing in for your sister, Virgie. We also got this group with Roy, Irma, Naomi Kemp and Illa Mae Burns, Dr. Jim's granddaughters.
It was only later that I felt I really got to know you. In Feb., 2001, Andrea and I drove my mother, Maggie, from Lawrenceburg to Pensacola to see her Uncle. Few 85 year olds get to visit an uncle. My sister, Gail, and husband, Gene, met us there. When we arrived in late afternoon I called Vena and asked how Floyd was doing. She said, “The Skipper is in the shower…he has been working in the yard all day.” After we all went out to dinner, you took all of us to your home and showed us your yard and workshop, with many stories of your projects. We especially enjoyed seeing photos and hearing you and Vena tell stories of your family.
The next day Mom, Gail, and Gene left early for Orlando and Andrea and I met you and Vena for church. We were excited about going with you since we had heard you speak, excitedly, at reunions, about your church and the Bible class you two had helped lead for years. We enjoyed so much meeting your class and friends at worship and seeing their deep appreciation for the two of you. At lunch, with just the four of us, we got an even better appreciation of you, as you related how during some rough years you were drawn together and, found yourselves seeking God's hand and direction. It moved us to hear you give Him praise as He led you to build your lives together and find the rich blessings He has for you. Indeed, I feel God has blessed my life and many others by giving us long years, health, and a keen interest in bringing this broad family together. I always deeply respected and appreciated my Grandmother, Virgie, and your brother, John, whom I got to know fairly well, but it seemed they had been gone so long. I found it incredible that God would bless me, when I am nearly 70, by bringing my grandmother's brother into my life.
Last year, your son John, sent me the Pensacola News Herald's feature about your role in developing and teaching the Navy's sunken submarine rescue system over many years. I appreciated the detail since I did not recall reading much bout it in your “My Book of Memories”. I recalled clearly your observations in the book of how you learned quickly that the Navy held much promise for any one willing to work hard and stay out of trouble. It looked like Commander Momsen, who later became an Admiral, as leader of the rescue program, must have seen those qualities he needed in you.
While visiting John's place in Panama City in March, Andrea and I drove to Pensacola to spend some time with you and Vena. Again, your hospitality and graciousness amazed us. At the lunch table Vena related that the day before the Skipper had been working on the roof of the house! I asked for your comment. “The only problem,” you said, “was I needed other tools and had to go up and down the ladder three times.”
I believe you understand why we appreciate you so much and have high expectations for your second century. All of us need all we can find of family like you. For your Pre-100th Celebration at this Reunion, I am so pleased my brother Jim, my sister Gail, and my late brother Bills wife, Myrna, plan to attend. I want them to get to know you and this family.
Floyd, I thank God for you and ask His blessings on you and the family.
August, 2002
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After my father died, Mother moved our family to Illinois. This was shortly after you retired and returned to Tennessee, so I didn't get to meet you then.
Only when, in my early 60's, did I meet you at one of the early reunions at Roy Matthews’s house, in Loretto, TN. You got my attention, as you sat across the table, and told in detail your tale about the decision to leave the Haskins' home on Knob Creek to seek work in Florence, Ala. It was at that reunion that Bud Slagle and Tom Stanford loaned me their treasure of old Matthews's family photos. I copied them and shared them at the next reunion, learning much about the family through those photos.
At the next few reunions I appreciated your role in making everyone feel so much a part of this big family and your apparent joy at being with your family. Your prayers touched me as did your capacity to make us all feel comfortable and that we belonged.
When we met at Roy's house, it was my first time to see him since I was a child and I wanted much to get to know him. When Bill and I did the video interview with Roy he told us so much about you, himself, and Viola during the years following your mother's death. Roy loaned me his copy of your “memories” book and I took it to mother's and read it through that night.
That fall after the reunion at Loretto, we went to Roy's where Bill and I did a video of your story. Around that time my Aunt Mary discovered an old photo of a Matthews’s family gathering at Uncle John's house when I was about 8 years old. I was amazed to find myself in the picture beside Roy with Gene standing between us. I was determined to get to know Roy much better, but he passed that winter. I had seen him in the hospital a few days earlier and planned on going to Lawrenceburg to see him the day he passed.
I feel indebted to you and the reunion leaders for the few times with him because he and you have given me a renewed appreciation for a part of my family I only knew by names and stories.
I had met Irma Plott twice before the reunions and communicated some on family history. It was good to meet some of her family and some of Dr. Jim's family. It is always great to meet family you have never known and really appreciate that you will get to know them better through the reunions. Without the reunions I know of no way I could have gotten to know the descendants of you, Roy, Viola, Sharpe, Bob, Price, and Solon. And now Jan tells us she has located descendants of Frances Rosine Matthews Hughes, a sister of John Houston, Jim, and Marion.
I have enjoyed the reunion visits, but am especially excited about the photos, videos and now this book we are presenting to you. A highlight for me was 1999 when we got a “5 generation” photo of Mother, me, my daughter, Linda, with her children and you standing in for your sister, Virgie. We also got this group with Roy, Irma, Naomi Kemp and Illa Mae Burns, Dr. Jim's granddaughters.
It was only later that I felt I really got to know you. In Feb., 2001, Andrea and I drove my mother, Maggie, from Lawrenceburg to Pensacola to see her Uncle. Few 85 year olds get to visit an uncle. My sister, Gail, and husband, Gene, met us there. When we arrived in late afternoon I called Vena and asked how Floyd was doing. She said, “The Skipper is in the shower…he has been working in the yard all day.” After we all went out to dinner, you took all of us to your home and showed us your yard and workshop, with many stories of your projects. We especially enjoyed seeing photos and hearing you and Vena tell stories of your family.
The next day Mom, Gail, and Gene left early for Orlando and Andrea and I met you and Vena for church. We were excited about going with you since we had heard you speak, excitedly, at reunions, about your church and the Bible class you two had helped lead for years. We enjoyed so much meeting your class and friends at worship and seeing their deep appreciation for the two of you. At lunch, with just the four of us, we got an even better appreciation of you, as you related how during some rough years you were drawn together and, found yourselves seeking God's hand and direction. It moved us to hear you give Him praise as He led you to build your lives together and find the rich blessings He has for you. Indeed, I feel God has blessed my life and many others by giving us long years, health, and a keen interest in bringing this broad family together. I always deeply respected and appreciated my Grandmother, Virgie, and your brother, John, whom I got to know fairly well, but it seemed they had been gone so long. I found it incredible that God would bless me, when I am nearly 70, by bringing my grandmother's brother into my life.
Last year, your son John, sent me the Pensacola News Herald's feature about your role in developing and teaching the Navy's sunken submarine rescue system over many years. I appreciated the detail since I did not recall reading much bout it in your “My Book of Memories”. I recalled clearly your observations in the book of how you learned quickly that the Navy held much promise for any one willing to work hard and stay out of trouble. It looked like Commander Momsen, who later became an Admiral, as leader of the rescue program, must have seen those qualities he needed in you.
While visiting John's place in Panama City in March, Andrea and I drove to Pensacola to spend some time with you and Vena. Again, your hospitality and graciousness amazed us. At the lunch table Vena related that the day before the Skipper had been working on the roof of the house! I asked for your comment. “The only problem,” you said, “was I needed other tools and had to go up and down the ladder three times.”
I believe you understand why we appreciate you so much and have high expectations for your second century. All of us need all we can find of family like you. For your Pre-100th Celebration at this Reunion, I am so pleased my brother Jim, my sister Gail, and my late brother Bills wife, Myrna, plan to attend. I want them to get to know you and this family.
Floyd, I thank God for you and ask His blessings on you and the family.
August, 2002
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