Irving Allen Mathews (8 Apr 1917

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and accordin ...

– 7 February 1994,

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

) 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, ...

specialty retail executive, who devoted 41 years to

Frost Bros. Frost Bros. was a high-fashion retail chain based in San Antonio, Texas. The retailer opened its first store in 1917 at 217 E. Houston Street in Downtown San Antonio. Frost Bros. was known for quality personal service, including name recognition ...

, formerly of

, Texas. He also served as Board Chairman of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas covers the Eleventh Federal Reserve District, which includes Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico, a district sometimes referred to as the Oil Patch. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is one of 12 ...

Career at Frost Bros.

Mathews began a 41-year career with

as a fashion buyer, ascending to president of its specialty clothing store at

North Star Mall North Star Mall is a shopping mall in San Antonio, Texas, USA with anchor tenants Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Forever 21. The mall also has over 200 specialty stores, some exclusive to the San Antonio market, including Arma ...

in 1963. Frost Bros. was sold in 1970 to

Manhattan Industries Manhattan Industries was founded as the Manhattan Shirt Company by Lewis Levi in 1857. His son Abram Leeds took over and grew the company to be one of the largest shirt producers. Brands under the company included Henry Grethel, The Vera Companie ...

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 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''The Galves ...

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

Stewardship in banking

Mathews served as a director of

Frost National Bank Frost Bank is a Texas-chartered bank based in San Antonio with 155 branches and 1,700 automated teller machines, all of which are in Texas. It is the primary subsidiary of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc., a bank holding company. It is on the list of ...

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 of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...

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 league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

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

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 , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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 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 U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Repres ...

— 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, Texas. Its season ran from late September to early June. Sebastian Lang-Lessing, its music director from 2010 to 2020, was the last to serve in that ...

, 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 ( 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 America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

Wilmette, IL Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The f ...

(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 Jews and Judaism in Texas 20th-century American businesspeople