(Seguin) — City officials, past and present, are remembering the life and legacy of former Seguin Mayor Betty Ann Matthies. Matthies died on Monday at the age of 90.
Current Mayor Donna Dodgen says Matthies was instrumental to her getting involved in city government.
“She’s the reason I am where I am. I mean, she asked me — actually, she told me because that’s how Betty Ann did things and got things done. You just didn’t tell…Betty Ann, no. I don’t know that may people told her no, said Dodgen.
Dodgen says that Matthies was a driving force in this community for decades. She says she did everything that she could be make the city better in every possible way.
“She saw the potential for the city and worked on every aspect of moving it forward and ensure that it continued to move forward — putting people in place that would do those things. I mean, she really cared about this town and wanted to see it prosper and grow and maintain a hometown (feel) and have all the things people needed. She was a true servant. She was a true server and a powerful woman, and set an incredible example,” said Dodgen.
Dodgen says Matthies not only ushered in some big projects, like the Caterpillar plant, which brought 1,400 new jobs to Seguin, but she says that Matthies was also part of many other long lasting projects. She says Matthies is a big part of the growth that is seen today in Seguin.
“If you look around town at the things that have been created, many of them have her name on it. That says volumes. You know the hospital is where it is (now), and she was an integral part of that, an integral part of our history of healthcare in town and taking care of people. Then she just transferred that to the city. She did amazing things with folks and let people be who they were and was a leader during a difficult time in our city. Even when we might not have had a whole lot of money — some hard decisions had to be made, and she led through that time,” said Dodgen.
Former Mayor Don Keil says he watched Matthies in action when he was a member of the city council. He said she had a way of helping the council stay on track, which was not always an easy task.
“She had this very calming and cooling effect over things and had that maternal wisdom to kind of bring us all together and make sure that we made senses, and to have a great government,” said Keil.
Keil says that Matthies had a deep knowledge of the community and its people. He says that helped her to lead the city towards a new era of growth and prosperity.
“She was that bridge between the Old Seguin…the founder kind of class of the city that grew up during the 20th century and she was a part of that. She knew all of the local families and who was responsible for this and for that. She was able to bring the small town…founding families together with the growth of Seguin as it was starting. She recognized the fact that we had to grow and worked very well to try to bring it here, without losing the character of the small town,” said Keil.
Keil says that Matthies had a calming presence, but she was also tough, smart and thoughtful individual. He says she knew what it took to get things accomplished.
“She had this maternal presence, and nobody wants to mess with that, to be honest with you. You know, it’s a certain amount of wisdom that you just felt really like you didn’t want to conflict with that at all. So, I think it it’s just that she was the right person, at the right time, and was able to use her assets. Those are her personality assets, that she had and she used them to great effect,” said Keil.
Former Mayor Mark Stautzenberger agrees. He says “Betty Ann” had wit and charm, but she also was serious when it came to doing the business of the people.
“She grew up on a farm and ranch, and grew up in that in that business, which is not an easy business to be in, as you well know. So, you had to be tough at times to make things work,” said Stautzenberger.
Stautzenberger says he has many fond memories of Matthies. During his time as Mayor, she took over the seat of her late-husband, CH “Pokey” Matthies. She would go on to replace Stautzenberger as mayor, when he no longer could run due to term limits. He says he always appreciated her approach to governance and to life.
“I like good humor, and I always enjoyed some of her little wry comments and things. But they could be cutting at times, and she didn’t ever regret telling you if you if thought you were doing something wrong. So, I really appreciated that…I just again offer my deepest condolences to her family. I know…everybody’s going miss her,” said Stautzenberger.
Stautzenberger says Matthies took over the reins as mayor and continued to move Seguin towards growth. He says he believed strongly in annexation and growth, because he feared that a town that wasn’t growing, was a town that would “die on the vine.” He says Matthies made sure that didn’t happen to Seguin.
“She continued that move and again you can see where we are today, with the growth that we have,” said Stautzenberger.
Matthies not only had the respect of her fellow mayors, but also the respect of staffers at Seguin City Hall. Former Seguin City Manager Doug Faseler says he wasn’t sure what to expect when he found out that Matthies planned to be in the office every day.
“I have to admit, when I when I became a city manager, I’d never worked in a city with a full-time mayor and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh!’ But boy, what a blessing it was to me and to the city. She was available to me. I could bounce off ideas and she knew the pulse of the community. You know, she knew so many people, so she was a great, great sounding board,” said Faseler.
Faseler says people just respected Matthies for the skills that she brought to the table. He says she was an instrumental figure in several key negotiations for the city.
“I remember working on some economic development projects with her. We worked on the Caterpillar deal with the folks in Illinois on that. They loved working with her. And I remember one time we were trying to recruit someone. I guess Bexar County was also trying to recruit them, and we were second in line. We had to meet with them — oh gosh, I think it was midnight in San Antonio in a conference room. But she was up for it. She was there to represent the city, and she was just wonderful,” said Faseler.
Faseler says he also got to know Matthies on a personal level, and he appreciated all that she did for him and for the city.
“She was just wonderful to work with, and I think we had a great friendship. We developed a friendship. I knew this day would come. She had a wonderful, wonderful life of success and contribution to Seguin and to the community. She will certainly be missed,” said Faseler.
Matthies was an administrator at Guadalupe Regional Medical Center (GRMC) for decades. That’s where CEO Robert Haynes first got to know her. But he says he learned so much more about her while watching her serve as the city’s mayor. He says she made a lasting impact on so many parts of this community.
“In my roles with the (Seguin Area) Chamber of Commerce for seven years and (Seguin) Economic Development (Corporation) — I think for six years or whatever the tenure is — I saw the difference that she made from the mayor’s chair and how she brought different factions of the community together to work together, in some cases, for the first time in a long time. You saw things happen, and I don’t know that he necessarily gets all the credit she deserves for that,” said Haynes.
It’s hard to talk about Matthies’ legacy in Seguin without talking about her time at Guadalupe Regional Medical Center. That’s a whole other story, and it will be shared on Wednesday during part two of our look at the life and legacy of Betty Ann Matthies.