Morris Charles Matson

Morris Matson, Civic Leader, Texas Art Collector, 

and Champion of Fort Worth, Dies at 97

Morris Charles Matson, whose seven decades of influence in Fort Worth spanned city government, municipal finance, education, philanthropy, and the arts, died peacefully on July 28, 2026. He was 97.

To describe Mr. Matson by any single profession or interest is impossible. Throughout his long life, he was an Air Force officer, accountant, professor, municipal finance expert, city administrator, museum docent, art enthusiast and collector, competitive tennis player, and civic benefactor. Those who knew him best will remember him for his quick wit and gift for storytelling.

He seemed to know something about almost any topic: he could explain oil-field engineering, discuss municipal bonds, analyze Texas politics, or the fine points of an early Texas painting.

Born on September 24, 1928, in an oil field camp near Smackover, Arkansas, Mr. Matson grew up amid the boom-and-bust cycles of the petroleum industry. His family moved frequently across Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, and California before returning to Texas.

His education reflected both ambition and interruption. He studied engineering at The Rice Institute, later earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish literature and languages in 1953 from what became Southern Nazarene University, and years later, while working full time, completed an M.B.A. at Texas Christian University.

After college Mr. Matson worked briefly in the West Texas oil fields before joining the United States Air Force during the Korean War era. As a Strategic Air Command officer he served as a multi-engine pilot and nuclear weapons officer, serving in the states as well as in Germany and French Morocco.

Following his military service, he entered private industry with The Western Company and later Peat Marwick Mitchell before joining the City of Fort Worth as Assistant City Manager for Finance in 1971. He later served as Acting City Manager and one term as a member of the Fort Worth City Council.

During his 13 years in city government, he helped advance major regional projects, including land acquisition for the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, development of Greater Southwest International Airport, financing for the Richland-Chambers Reservoir, creation of Spinks Airport, and acquisition of the Rock Island rail corridor linking Dallas and Fort Worth.

In 1984, AMBAC Indemnity Corporation recruited him as regional vice president, where his work in municipal finance brought national recognition. He advised other major cities and served from 1983 to1986 on the prestigious Municipal Rulemaking Board.

His knowledge and presentation skills made him a sought-after speaker and educator by all kinds of audiences at home and abroad. He repeatedly won the Fort Worth Rotary’s Grand Championship in public speaking, taught overflow classes in Sunday school, and spent a year as a visiting professor at the University of South Africa in Pretoria. He managed also to find the time to lecture as an adjunct professor at Texas Christian University on finance as well as on collecting Texas art.

In his later years, researching and collecting early Texas art became his defining avocation. Before regional art gained wide recognition, Mr. Matson was buying works by Texas artists, in particular, paintings by artists of the Fort Worth Circle. He was a founding member of organizations devoted to Texas art scholarship, including CASETA—the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art—which honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

Historic Fort Worth named him honoree of its 2022 “Preservation is the Art of the City” exhibition, recognizing his many years of advocacy for Texas art and artists.

For nearly 25 years, he charmed visitors as a docent at the Amon Carter Museum of Art with his in-depth knowledge of American art and his insider stories of artists, collectors, and Fort Worth’s cultural scene. Word got around, and people would call the museum specifically asking for a Morris Matson tour.

He was widely known for his generosity, supporting, among many other entities, museums, libraries, scholarships, humanitarian relief efforts, food banks, Ukrainian refugees, a girls’ school in Kenya, in addition to providing a helping hand for individuals in need.

The anchor in his life was his wife of 66 years, Kathryn Chisholm Matson, with whom he built a life defined by family devotion, partnership, and shared interest in the arts and civic engagement. Together they raised two daughters, and he remained deeply involved in their lives and the lives of their grandchildren and great grandchildren. Family was Mr. Matson’s lodestar.

In later years he shared his life with his companion Kathryn Allen, a fellow Amon Carter docent. They traveled widely in the U.S. and abroad, pursuing their mutual interest in art. Together they sought out art galleries, estate sales, and antiques shops, always looking for that undiscovered treasure to enhance their collections.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Kathryn Chisholm Matson; daughter Dana Kay Matson; granddaughter Kelli Georgeanne Baker; brother Bill Matson; and parents, Della Banks Cox Matson and George Lovel Matson.

He is survived by daughter, Paula Matson Panchak and husband Rob; grandchildren Dana Marie Campbell and husband John; Kathryn Leigh Baugher and husband Chris; Veronica Carl; and Kristin Dane Baker; six great-grandchildren; brother Boyd Matson and sister-in-law Betty Hudson; and longtime companion, Kathryn Allen.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Tarrant Country Food Bank, the Women’s Center of Tarrant County, or the charity of your choice.

A celebration of his remarkable life will be held at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth on September 3, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.