David Matthews

David “Dave” R. Matthews, age 70, passed away suddenly on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at the West Nipissing General Hospital in Sturgeon Falls,Ontario.

Dave was born on January 13, 1949 in Brantford, Ontario and was the son of Blake and Eva Matthews (predeceased) of Hanmer, Ontario.

He is survived by his loving wife Suzanne (nee Robidoux) of 48 years of Sturgeon Falls, where they made a beautiful life for their family on the shores of Lake Nipissing in their retirement. Dave leaves behind his dear son Chris Matthews (wife Lisa) of Cole Harbour, NS and his loving daughter Brigitte Hollohan (husband Ryan) of Sudbury, ON. He will be missed by his brother Ron, sisters Tamara (predeceased) (husband Peter), Vicki (husband Don), Lynda (husband Jim) and Lisa. Dave was a dear son-in-law to Charles (predeceased) and Therese Robidoux of Sturgeon Falls. He was a brother-in-law to Jim (wife Yollande), Roger (wife Line) and Denis (wife Julie) of Sudbury. Uncle Dave will be missed by all his nieces and nephews that always enjoyed having a laugh with him.

Dave began his career as a computer programmer at Inco and worked in Copper Cliff for 14 years. He then found his niche for work as a real estate agent and eventually as a broker founding Matthews Realty. Dave achieved numerous awards in Sudbury and Ontario in Real Estate but most of all he enjoyed serving and building strong relationships with his clients throughout the years. However, Dave’s real passion in life was his love for sports which he passed on to his children and grandchildren.

Dave coached and managed numerous teams in Valley East and Sudbury which included hockey, baseball, soccer, and ringuette. As well, Dave was an avid tennis player and was a member of the Nipissing Tennis club and competed in numerous tournaments in North Bay and Nova Scotia. For those who knew Dave, there was no bigger fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He lived his life for his family but most of all for his six grandchildren (Charlie, Madison, Mikayla, Katelyn, Blake and Mya). His greatest joy was going to the rink to watch his grandchildren play hockey. He took great pride in teaching all his grandchildren how to skate and enjoyed watching every practice and game they played. Dave was always the first one to tell his grandchildren what they did right on the ice and was always a positive role model in their lives. They will miss their “Pa” and all the fond memories they had with him but he will be forever in their hearts.

Family receiving friends on Saturday, September 28, 2019 at HILLSIDE FUNERAL SERVICES, 362 Airport Rd, North Bay from 1-2 pm. A celebration of his life will follow at 2 pm at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Memory of Dave be can made to either to the Sudbury Girls District Hockey Association (cheques only) or the Metro East Inferno Hockey in Dartmouth (cheques only).