Coach Bill Matthews

Bill "Indian" Matthews, 77, legendary athletic director, football coach, and former All-American athlete passed away on May 1, 2020.

He was born on January 9, 1943 in Augusta, AR to Elmer "Rink" and Ruth Matthews and is survived by his wife, Daphne, his sisters Janie Lowry and Anna Love, his son Shane, and even though he despised the word "step", his stepchildren Jim and Wesley Dannreuther and Elizabeth Alexander. Bill is also survived by Shane's two children, Brooke and Luke, as well as Sam, Emma Kate, and Seth Alexander and Elliot. Will, and Ben Dannreuther--all who considered him their grandfather. He is also survived by his mother-in-law Clara Davis, whom he helped take care of for nearly 25 years and whom he loved dearly. He is preceded in death by his first wife Peggy Cook who died of cancer in 1992, and his older brother C.E. who Bill complained until the bitter end got the better name (Bill's real name is Elmer, a name he despised even more than the word "step").

Bill graduated from Benoit High School, then attended Ole Miss where he played football for Johnny Vaught from 1965-1968. Bill played in some classic games, including the Cotton Bowl against Texas and a 2-hand touch game at Graceland where rumor has it Indian broke Elvis's arm. After deciding that pre-med wasn't a good fit, he earned a degree in Physical Education and began his coaching career in the Delta where he coached at Cleveland High School. In 1986 Bill was hired as the athletic director and head football coach for Pascagoula High School where he would spend the rest of his career. The 1987 Panther football team won the 5A Mississippi State Championship and is still considered one of the greatest high school teams to ever play by anyone who ever saw them. Bill earned too many accolades to list here, but notable ones include being the first high school coach ever invited to coach in the Japan Bowl in Tokyo, coaching in the Hula Bowl in Hawaii, and being inducted into the Mississippi High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. It is also worth noting that Bill will be inducted the into Pascagoula Hall of Fame posthumously.

Bill was an incredibly dedicated man who gave everything to his career, something he credited to his father: "My dad taught us that we needed to give 100% to whatever job we took on." It has been said that a coach impacts more young people in a year than the average person does in a lifetime, and Bill believed wholeheartedly in the importance of the coach's job and the value of athletics. He said, "When I first began coaching, I promised myself that I would never place the value of a win above the welfare of a player. I wanted to be sure that young men who played for me were finer and more decent for having done so. Athletics can teach a good way to live. When you get knocked down, you get back up." That philosophy guided him during his career and into his final days as he battled congestive heart failure for nearly a year--a period of time that gave his loved ones a chance to cherish his presence (even when, and probably especially when, he gave them a hard time about anything and everything). It also gave the community and an enormous personal following the chance to pay him their respects while he was still alive, which they did.

Due to the concerns surrounding COVID-19, there is no memorial service planned at this time. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any contributions be made to either St. Jude Hospital or the Wounded Warrior Project of Mississippi. There will never be another "Indian" and he will be missed.

The RIEMANN FAMILY FUNERAL HOME, 13872 Lemoyne Blvd, West Jackson County, is serving the family and online tributes may be offered at www.riemannfamily.com