George F. Matheson, Jr.

George F. Matheson, Jr.

Iowa City

George Francis Matheson, Jr., 86, of Iowa City, Iowa, passed away peacefully on January 30, 2026, surrounded by the love of his family. He lived a rich, full life.

George was born in Chicago, Illinois, on January 12, 1940, to George F. Matheson & Dorothy Cornille Matheson. As the eldest of 5 children, his was a busy childhood playing year-round sports in the Chicago Park District and delivering papers up and down the stairs in his apartment building.

He attended Weber High School in Chicago and St. Procopius College in Lisle, Illinois. He loved playing football, basketball, and baseball throughout his youth and continued with football and baseball at St. Procopius. Following graduation he moved to Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, where he coached high school football and earned a Master’s Degree from Illinois State University. It was there that he met his future wife, Mary Lou Nicholas; they married on June 12, 1965. The couple moved on to Lafayette, Indiana, where George worked in the Dean of Men’s Office while earning a PhD in Guidance & Counseling from Purdue University.

After finishing his doctorate, he was brought to the University of Iowa to serve as the Associate Dean of Students. After seven years in various roles at the U of I, including counseling, career planning, and placement services, he decided to pivot into a career in the real estate industry. After working with various firms, he became a founding member of the ownership group that established the Iowa City Coldwell Banker franchise (now Edge Realty). During his real estate career, he served a term as president of the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors. He retired from real estate in 2018.

Beyond his family, George was passionate about community service. He served on the Iowa City School Board from 1991-1997, serving two terms as President. He was on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and served on many Chamber committees, was a Lions Club member since 1978 and served as President, served as President of the School District Foundation, chaired the Monday Morning Quarterback Club, and served on the boards of Oaknoll and RSVP. He also enjoyed reading to elementary students as a Rock ‘N’ Read volunteer and was co-founder of the “Bucks for Books” program through the Iowa City School District to raise funds to support book purchases for local school libraries.

In spite of all his community service, George’s family was always his priority. His children, Daniel, Amy, and Peter, and wife, Mary Lou, always came first. He modeled what a loving family man and community servant should be for his children, and he passed on his love of sports, his sense of humor, and his passion for the Iowa City community to them. He was married to his best friend for 60 years, and he and Mary Lou enjoyed all of life’s adventures together through their active involvement in their children’s lives. He was first and foremost a devoted family man.

George was preceded in death by his parents, an infant son, Paul, and his sister Patricia Maros and brother-in-law Ted Maros. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lou, son Daniel (Bridget) Matheson, daughter Amy (Craig Kirkpatrick), son Peter Matheson, brother John (Judy) Matheson, sister Susan Romanski, brother Tom Matheson, and many extended family members.

An open-house Celebration of Life is planned for February 15 from 12:30-3 p.m. at the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame & Museum, Roy G. Karro Building, 2425 Prairie Meadow Dr., Iowa City, Iowa.

In lieu of flowers and in keeping with George’s lifelong commitment to education, please consider a donation in memory of George to the University of Iowa Sport & Recreation Management Gift Fund through the University of Iowa Center for Advancement to support student scholarships in the academic program led by his son, Dan, or to the “Bucks for Books” program through the Iowa City Community School District.

The family wants to extend a huge thank-you to the staff at Windmill Manor who extended great love and care to George during his last six months and to the staff of Moments Hospice who went above and beyond every day in their attentive care for George. They helped enrich the final stage of George’s life and were an important source of support for George’s family.