E. William "Bill" Mather

E. William “Bill” Mather, 92, of Jamison City Road, Benton, died Saturday afternoon, June 9, 2012 at the Bonham Nursing Center, Register where he had been a resident since April 26th. Born August 7, 1919 in Jamison City, he was a son of the late Benjamin Franklin Mather and Gertrude Pearl (Ashelman) Mather. He was preceded in death by his two wives: Pauline (Kingsbury) Mather on December 8, 1987 and Dorothea E. (Stout) Swank Mather on October 14, 2010. Mr. Mather attended the Jamison City School and the Orangeville School briefly and then went to Benton to school where he graduated from Benton High School in 1937. He proudly served his country in World War II in the U. S. Army. He spent most of his life in Jamison City except for a year that he lived in Orangeville, 6 years in Benton Township, and a year that he lived in Berwick. Mr. Mather was Postmaster for the Benton Post Office for 25 years, retiring in 1983. In his younger years, he was a welder at the Berwick A. C. & F. He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church of Central and had served on the Church Advisory Board and had been the church treasurer and a trustee at one time. He was also active in the Annual United Methodist Church Conference for many years. Mr. Mather was very active with the North Mountain Volunteer Fire Company and the Sugarloaf Community Ambulance for many years. He served as President of the Fire Company for 17 years and was President and Chief Driver for the Ambulance Association for many years. He was very active with the annual North Mountain Carnival of which he served as Treasurer. Several years ago the carnival grounds were named for him in his honor for his decades of dedication and volunteering. He was also President of the Sugarloaf School Memorial Association and assisted with the fish dinners at the Sugarloaf Memorial Building in Grassmere since 1957. He was also involved in local politics and served as the Emergency Management contact for Sugarloaf Township for many years. He was a member of the National Association of Postmasters and a former member of the Berwick Moose Lodge. He was the last member of his immediate family and in addition to his two wives was preceded in death by a sister, Mary Iobst who died in January 1999 and a brother, George Mather, who died in 1960. Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, June 13th, 2012 at 11 A. M. at the McMichael Funeral Home, Inc., 4394 Red Rock Road, Benton (Rt. 487) with the Rev. Howard W. Leh, his pastor and close friend, officiating. Burial will be in the Benton Cemetery. A Viewing will be held Wednesday from 9:30 AM until the time of the service at 11 at McMichael’s. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to Christ United Methodist Church, c/o Rev. Leh, 605 Camp Lavigne Road, Benton, PA 17814.

E. William "Bill" Mather

August 7, 1919 - June 9, 2012