It is with great sadness that I report that Gil Mathis AA5XH passed away this morning around 2am (03/25/2009) at a local hospital. Gil was 76, having been born on December 25, 1932. He had been admitted to the hospital on February 16th after showing signs of a stroke. He was transferred to rehab, where he suffered another stroke and was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. Cancer was found in his left lung and had spread to other parts of his body.
Gil was retired from the U. S. Army and later from a career at Industrial Communications as a service technician. He was a longtime member of the San Antonio Repeater Organization, where he was loved by all. He was a currently serving Director for the San Antonio Radio Club as well. Gil was very active in public service events such as the (formerly called) BikeMS Bike to the Beach and Tour de Cure. Gil earned his Extra Class ham license in February 1992 and his prior call was KI5MO.
I knew Gil best from our Wednesday lunches at Jim’s, where he was a regular. He will be greatly missed.
Shane NS5D
UPDATE – There will not be any funeral services, per se, as Gil will be cremated. But there is a scheduled “Visitation” to be held Monday, March 30th, between 5:00pm – 9:00pm, at the M.E. Rodriguez Funeral Home, 511 Guadalupe, San Antonio, TX 78207. The Funeral Home’s phone is (210) 226-6111.
Group Dinner After Visitation, Starting @ 7:30pm:
Pico De Gallo Mexican Restaurant
111 S. Leona St.
San Antonio Texas, 78207
(210) 225-6060
March 25th, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Gil will be missed by many in the Amateur Radio Community of South Texas. His tireless work as a Volunteer Examiner for many years will be remembered by all who attended one of his test sessions.
One thing I admired about Gil is that he provided test sessions for many clubs without regard to club politics. His selfless dedication to testing foucused on providing a comfortable setting for testing, building solid teams of VE’s and making sure that the paperwork was always sent in as soon as possible after the test.
For many in the area, he was the first person to shake your hand and welcome you to Amateur Radio after passing your test.
73
de Paul Guido, N5IUT
March 25th, 2009 at 11:27 AM
It is with sadness that I share with you that one of our veteran volunteers (Hams) passed away last night after a long illness. Gil Mathis worked the Bike to the Beach from its inception, helped me better understand bike event communications, and aided in communications elsewhere in the chapter. Gil will be missed.
SK in the subject alongside Gile’s call sign means “silent key”.
Please pass this note along to your respective HAM and SAG groups on your events.
KE5ZTZ AA5XH…
Tony Ralf (KE5ZTZ)
VP, South Texas
National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Lone Star Chapter
9830 Colonnade Blvd., Ste. 130
San Antonio, TX 78230
tel +1 210.494.5531, press 2
fax +1 210.496.5414
JOIN THE MOVEMENT
MakeYourMarkMS.org
March 25th, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Gil was a great man, ever since I had known him, and was very knowledgeable about amateur radio and when I first got my license, taught me a lot of what I know today.
Gil was the man who helped me get my technician class license and gave me my exam back in 1998. Godspeed, Gil, and may you rest in peace. You will be missed.
Charles
de KD5EXS
March 25th, 2009 at 3:10 PM
I am so sorry to hear about Gil he was a great ham as well as a great man
Floyd Gordon
March 25th, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Sadly, we have lost a friend and SARC board member.
Before Gill’s health started to slip, he was a very faithful member and could always be counted on to be available when help was needed.
J C Smith N5RXS
March 25th, 2009 at 11:26 PM
It was with sadness this morning that I learned that Gil Mathis, AA5XH died Tuesday night. I had the pleasure of working with Gil on many public service events (Bike to the Beach, Tour de Cure, Battle of the Bands, etc.) and on a SARO election committee.
He was always willing to fill any position and did so with experience and a pleasant manner. Gil was obviously a very active member of the San Antonio Amateur Radio community and will be missed by all who knew him.
My wife Kathy, daughter Meghann (KE5KDR) and I will remember him fondly.
Tony Ralf (KE5ZTZ), the VP for South Texas of the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society sent an email early Wednesday morning to the BikeMS Steering Committee regarding Gil and his long and valued service to the MS Society.
In that email he wrote:
“It is with sadness that I share with you that one of our veteran volunteers (Hams) passed away last night after a long illness. Gil Mathis worked the Bike to the Beach from it’s inception, helped me better understand bike event communications, and aided in communications elsewhere in the chapter. Gil will be missed.”
We will all miss Gil.
Milton – N5HMJ
March 28th, 2009 at 9:54 PM
As you are aware we lost Gil Mathis AA5XH on March 24th, 2009. There is a scheduled “Visitation” to be held Monday, March 30th, between 5:00pm – 9:00pm, at the M.E. Rodriguez Funeral Home, 511 Guadalupe, San Antonio, TX 78207. The Funeral Home’s phone is (210) 226-6111.
This is not something where you are required or expected to attend for the full four hours. A few of us would like to send Gil off in typical HAM fashion, meaning that after gathering for the “Visitation” we would go to a local restaurant, have something to eat and drink, and swap lies about Gil. This is obviously being put together at the last minute so things are a bit loose, but here are the present details.
Event: Post Visitation AAX5H Dinner
When: Monday, March 24th, 2009 @ ~7:30PM
Keeping in mind that many people are working that day and the following day we don’t want to make it too late or early. Many of us will also have children with us.
Where: We will leave from the M.E. Rodriguez Funeral Home, 511 Guadalupe, San Antonio, TX 78207. The restaurant has not been decided upon at this point. We are looking for a restaurant near the M.E. Rodriguez Funeral Home that can handle an impromptu large crowd, (close means with in an approximate 10 block radius), so all suggestions are welcomed. For those not familiar with the area, it is ~ 1.5 blocks west of I-10 on Guadalupe. Guadalupe is about 4 blocks south of W. Durango Blvd. When we decide on a restaurant I will publish it, so persons that can not attend the Visitation can come to the Dinner.
RSVP: Please send me (milton@n5hmj.com) an email if you will attend. This is just so that we can warn the restaurant what to expect. If you find that at the last minute you can attend, please do so, do not let the lack of an RSVP prevent you from attending.
Comments: You are of course expected to pay for what you order in the same fashion as the dinners after a SARO meeting.
Please feel free to forward this to anyone you wish. You may also post this on websites as appropriate.
Thanks,
Milton – N5HMJ
March 29th, 2009 at 5:08 PM
I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Gil Mathis AA5XH. He was one of the first greatest hams I met after receiving my tech license March of 2004. We worked many Public Service events together such as the MS-150 Bike to the Beach, MS-Walk, and The Battle of The Bands Festival. We were both members of the Alamo Area Radio Organization, San Antonio Repeater Organization, and San Antonio Radio Club. We also attended several of the Saturday Morning Breakfasts at Jims on E.Ramsey & San Pedro. He was such a great knowledgeable guy to work with and hang out with. He will be greatly missed, and may he rest in peace.
73 & God Bless,
Joseph D. Brown / W5SEA
San Antonio, TX.
March 29th, 2009 at 6:15 PM
Subject: Re: Gill Mathis AA5XH – Silent Key: Post Visitation Dinner
Milton Johnson N5HMJ
We now have the details:
Event: Post Visitation AAX5H Dinner
When: Monday, March 30th, 2009 @ ~7:30PM (we will leave the funeral home at ~7:30pm for the 10 minute drive to the restaurant)
Where:
Pico De Gallo Mexican Restaurant
111 S. Leona St.
San Antonio Texas, 78207
(210) 225-6060
RSVP: Please send me (milton@n5hmj.com) an email if you will attend. This is just so that we can warn the restaurant what to expect. If you find that at the last minute you can attend, please do so, do not let the lack of an RSVP prevent you from attending.
Comments: You are of course expected to pay for what you order in the same fashion as the dinners after a SARO meeting. If you can only attend the dinner then we look forward to seeing you at the dinner.
Map of Funeral Home & Restaurant