Vivian Mathews

BREWER - Vivian I. Mathews, 95, passed away peacefully December 7, 2018, following a short illness at a Bangor healthcare facility. She was born April 21, 1923 in Vanceboro, ME., the daughter of Ralph E. and Illa B. (Howland) Susee.

Vivian graduated from Vanceboro High School, Class of 1941. She then graduated from Beals Business School, Bangor, and went on to work as a stenographer at Dow Air Field. This was followed by a long career as a bookkeeper with the Katahdin Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Brewer. Vivian also worked in later years as a bookkeeper/payroll at Friendly's in Brewer.

Vivian married the love of her life, Oscar S. Mathews in 1946, at a wedding ceremony officiated by her cousin, Reverend Leslie Howland. Vivian and Oscar enjoyed traveling, and enjoying the beloved cottage they built on nearby Phillips Lake. After Oscar's passing in 1994, she enjoyed traveling with her sister and nieces to Florida, the Virgin Islands, Aruba, Washington, DC. and returning to visit the family home in Vanceboro. She enjoyed reading and was a devoted reader of the BDN. Vivian also enjoyed knitting, quilting, and sewing. She was a fount of local and family history, often sharing her innumerable anecdotes. Vivian was an active member of the First United Methodist Church, Brewer.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Oscar; her sister, Frances P. (Susee) Sewell Read; several aunts, including Rae (Susee) Colby, and Glennie (Howland) MacDonald; and many other aunts and cousins. She leaves to cherish her memory many cousins; Gene MacDonald and wife, Elaine, Joe MacDonald and wife, Barbara, Gerald MacDonald and wife, Penny, and Ronald Howland; many nieces and nephews including Constance (Sewell) Testa, Christine (Sewell) Stillson and husband, Lester, Edgar F. Sewell, Jr. and wife, Nancy, Janice (Plummer) Farrar, Linda (Plummer) Bangs; and many grand nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends are welcome to call 5-7 p.m., Thursday, December 13, 2018, at the Brewer Chapel of Brookings-Smith, 55 South Main Street, Brewer. A funeral service will be held 11 a.m., Friday, December 14, 2018 at the First United Methodist Church of Brewer, 40 South Main Street, Brewer, with Rev. Steve Brakey, officiating. All in attendance are welcome to share conversation and refreshments in the church hall immediately following the service, Friday. Private interment will be in Mt. Hope Cemetery, Bangor. Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com