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Dr. Richard âDickâ Mathewson poses in academic regalia in the late 1980s. Mathewson, a cornerstone of Oklahomaâs dental community, died Dec. 3 after contracting COVID-19 and suffering a fall. Photo Provided
Susan Grossman likes to remember her father as a true Renaissance man.
Dr. Richard âDickâ Mathewson, father to Grossman and her brother Stephen, lived up to that title in both acts of his life.
In his first act, Mathewson, a Michigan native who ended up in Oklahoma, became a founding faculty member of the University of Oklahomaâs School of Dentistry, leading the charge in pediatric dentistry in the state. In his second act, a post-retirement Mathewson became skilled in a number of hobbies, including researching and repairing antiques, teaching his children to fly fish and growing abundant vegetables in his garden.