Obituary of John Maxwell Mathis Sr

John "The Great" Maxwell Mathis Sr. [July 21, 1935] – [January 31, 2024] It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of John Maxwell Mathis Sr. on January 31, 2024 at the age of 88. John Maxwell Mathis Sr. was born on July 21, 1935. He grew up in Pleasantville, NJ and graduated from Pleasantville High School. He also lived in Collingswood, New Jersey and Allentown, Pennsylvania. He retired in West Virginia before deciding to move to Cape May Court House to spend more time with family. He spent his early years working alongside his family clamming business. Whenever he could smell the bay by his home in Cape May Court House, he was sure to mention the fond times he had clamming. In the summers, he would work for the Cape May County Mosquito Commission and in his later years would recount tales of "mosquito disasters" whenever the commission's chopper would fly over his house. Cape May Court House residents received their daily newspaper thanks to John's 25 years of service for the AC press. He served his country as well by serving in the National Guard for four years. He attended Eastern Pilgrim College in Allentown, PA and worked as a teacher after receiving his diploma. He retired after 30 years from Cape May City Elementary. His passion for teaching was recognized and was awarded Governor's Teacher Award in 1987. Even during his retirement, he always had a passion for learning something new and as a result became a frequent patron of the local library and bookstore. His passion was infectious and supported friends and family in the same pursuit of knowledge by lending old learning materials or offering advice from his years of teaching. For leisure, he would spend his days reading or watching a Western, feeding the birds and squirrels, spending time with his family, dominating in tabletop games, trying new jokes he read on his grandkids, and listening to his old country music still in cassette form. John Maxwell Mathis Sr was preceded in death by his mother and father, Claude and Nellie Mathis, brother Claude Jr, sister Jenny, and son-in-law John Mortensen. He is survived by wife, Annette, three children: Linda Mortenson, John Maxwell Mathis Jr and wife Amalia, Andrew; seven grandchildren: Corie, Erik, Sarah, Angela, Ruby, Maryanne, and Joseph; his brother: George; sisters: Nellie and Hilda; and 4 great grandchildren: Kaylie, MollyJean, Reagan and Harrison. A service will be held on February 9, 2024 at Evoy Funeral Home at 5:00 pm where relatives and friends will be received from 4-5 pm. The funeral home is located at 3218 Bayshore Road North Cape May, NJ 08204. All are invited to attend and celebrate the life of "The Great" John Maxwell Mathis Sr. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made online via organization Donors Choose. Donors Choose makes it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need. Public school teachers from every corner of America create classroom project requests, and you can give any amount to the project that inspires you. The high school John graduated from serves a diverse and low income population and a link to support the high school's teachers is available here: http://bit.ly/42r9aua If you donate to any of the projects listed through DonorsChoose, be sure to leave a comment stating in the tribute to John Mathis and his years of teaching. The family appreciates all expressions of sympathy and condolences.