Fentress Commission Honors Matthews

Fentress County Commissioner Wade Matthews was laid to rest Sunday.

County Executive Jimmy Johnson said Matthews’ loss is a huge blow to the community.

“Words really can’t describe him,” Johnson said. “Words can’t describe his chair being empty. It’s just a sad time. But Wade would say, ‘buckle up and go forward.’ Like I said before, he’ll be sadly missed. He’ll be missed in the meetings every night.”

Matthews will be honored at tonight’s Fentress County Commission meeting. Johnson said Matthews was an important fixture not only in his home community, but also in all of Fentress County.

“Wade was a gentleman,” Johnson said. “A father. A Christian. A friend. A very important person not only in his community in the Armathwaite/Mount Helen area, but also in the whole County of Fentress.”

Matthews was in his second-term as a County Commissioner. He passed away Wednesday and is survived by his wife, Julie Hyder Matthews, and daughter Olivia.

Johnson said he will fondly remember Matthews as an avid sportsman and community leader.

“He hunted a lot,” Johnson said. “He would bear hunt and deer hunt. He had his own business. He was a machinist. He worked several years in the machinist business, then he came four or five years ago and opened his own business in his community. He was a very community oriented person. He worked a lot with children in his church.

The Fentress County Board of Commission meets tonight at 6 p.m. in the Historic Courthouse in Jamestown.