William E. "Bill" Mathias, age 77, passed away Jan. 18, 2011. Born Nov. 8, 1933, in Springfield, Mo., to William G. and Elsie Mae (Morris) Mathias, Bill married Georgie Meadows Mathias on Dec. 27, 1957, and they recently celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary. He was a devoted father to his beloved daughter, Linda Jean Mathias. Bill attended Springfield Public Schools and graduated from Draughons Business College and Southwest Missouri State with a B.A. in Accounting. He completed post-graduate work in Health Care Administration from the Ohio State University. Bill taught at Draughons Business College and worked at Haas CPA firm (accountant), Reynolds Mfg. (controller), and Southwest Baptist University (controller) before beginning a 30-year career in health care administration at St. John's Hospital in Springfield (controller), St. Joseph Hospital in St. Joseph, Mo. (ass't administrator), and Stuttgart Memorial Hospital in Stuttgart, Ark. (CFO). Bill was actively involved in church, business and community service organizations in Missouri and Arkansas, including the Lions Club International, Masons, Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and local Baptist churches. He was past president of the Springfield Host Lions Club and Stuttgart Lions Club, from where he became Governor and received the Leadership Award from Lions International. He served on the Board of Directors for Lions World Services for the Blind and received the Melvin Jones Fellow Award and numerous other commendations for his work for the blind. Bill held leadership positions in several Masonic organizations including Master of United Lodge #5 in Springfield and Commander of St. John's Commandery No. 20 during its 100th anniversary. He was past president of the HFMA, which recognized Bill with several prestigious awards for outstanding performance in education. He also served on the Rice Belt Vocational Technical School Board at the appointment of Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker. Bill was a member of Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Springfield. Bill was preceded in death by his parents, William G. Mathias and Elsie Mae (Morris) Mathias; his grandparents, William H. Mathias and Nellie Jane (Harp) Mathias and Eugene Morris and Bertha (Garrett) Morris; and by his most beloved daughter, Linda Jean Mathias. He is survived by his beloved wife, Georgie Meadows Mathias; a sister, Betty Ann (Mathias) Palen and her husband, William S. Palen, of Springfield; a sister-in-law, Betty Edwards, of Nixa; nine nieces and nephews in Springfield and Dallas; and by a host of friends. Visitation will be held Saturday, Jan. 22, at 1:30 p.m., at Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home. A memorial service will follow at 2 p.m. with Dwain Patterson officiating. Burial will be at White Chapel Cemetery. Memorial contributions made be made to the Lions Club International Foundation.