Mathews, Raymond C.

Raymond Clifford Mathews, Sr., an engineer who worked for Humble Oil & Refining Company and Exxon Corporation, was born in Willow, Arkansas, on February 17, 1915, to Albert Edward Mathews and Eva Pearl Hudson Mathews and was the youngest son of seven siblings. Mathews was married to Betty Bunting Mathews and together they had two sons, Raymond C. Mathews, Jr., and Ronnie Mathews.

Humble Oil & Refining Company recruited Mathews at Texas A&M University, where he graduated in 1939 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He initially worked at the company’s Baytown Refinery, eventually working on the production of butyl rubber and high-octane aviation fuel, important contributions to the war effort. In 1942, he took leave from Humble and enlisted in the U.S. Army and was later assigned to the 435th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion, deploying to North Africa and Italy. Mathews returned to Humble after the war, working from the company’s headquarters in Houston.

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