Irving Allen Mathews (8 Apr 1917

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

– 7 February 1994,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

specialty retail executive, who devoted 41 years to Frost Bros., formerly of

, Texas. He also served as Board Chairman of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas (informally referred to as the Dallas Fed) is one of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks that, along with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the Federal Reserve System, the centra ...

Career at Frost Bros.

Mathews began a 41-year career with Frost Bros. as a fashion buyer, ascending to president of its specialty clothing store at North Star Mall in 1963. Frost Bros. was sold in 1970 to Manhattan Industries Inc. In 1971, Mathews became director of the company and served as CEO of the retail division until the chain was sold in 1986.''Ex-Dallas Businessman I.A. Mathews Dies,''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

, (edition: Home final) pge 24A, February 8, 1994

Stewardship in banking

Mathews served as a director of Frost National Bank of San Antonio from 1981 up until his death in 1994.

Stewardship in U.S. monetary policy

In 1971, the

Federal Reserve System The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

Board of Governors appointed Mathews director of the San Antonio branch. He served as chairman of the board of the

from 1972 to 1973, and as a class C director of the Dallas branch from 1974 to 1980.

San Antonio Spurs

Mathews was a founding stockholder in the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

franchise and one of only two of the original stockholders still holding a financial interest at his death.

Education

A native of

, he attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1938.

U.S. Armed Forces

Mathews served as a captain in the U.S. Army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Family

Irving's father, Samuel Henry Mathews (1893–1951), had owned an apparel retail store in

. On September 1, 1945 — while a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army stationed at

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a United States Army, U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president o ...

— Irving married Jeanne Lang, daughter of Sylvan Lang, co-owner of Frost Bros.

Affiliations

Mathews was a past director of the

San Antonio Symphony The San Antonio Symphony was a full-time professional symphony orchestra based in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. Its season ran from late September to early June. Sebastian Lang-Lessing, its music director from 2010 to 2020, was the last to ser ...

, United Fund, the Jewish Social Service Federation of San Antonio and the National Board of the American Jewish Committee.

References

General references * ''Who's Who in America, 42nd edition, 1982-1983'',

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

Wilmette, IL Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a populatio ...

(1982) Inline citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathews, Irving Allen 1917 births 1994 deaths American businesspeople in retailing American retail chief executives Businesspeople from San Antonio University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni American art collectors Knights of the Legion of Honour 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American businesspeople Jews from Ohio Jews from Texas Businesspeople from Ohio