Charles Preston Mathews, 79, co-owner and president of the Wayne County Press, passed away in his sleep Saturday evening at his Kincaid Acres home in Fairfield. Mr. Mathews had suffered from a serious liver condition for about two years. In recent months, his condition had deteriorated, requiring hospitalization for a week at St. Louis University Hospital. He returned home last Thursday, but had lost substantial weight and was in a weakened condition. The end was swift and unexpected for family members. Funeral services will be conducted at the Johnson & Vaughn Funeral Home on Saturday at 2 p.m. with Rev. Melissa Garrison officiating. Burial will be in Maple Hill Cemetery. A visitation will be held at the funeral home from 12:45 to 2 p.m. Memorials in his honor may be made to the Fairfield Park District to be used towards a splash pad. Mr. Mathews was born in Washington, Ind., on June 18, 1942, the son of T. O. and Mabel (Cunningham) Mathews. He was educated in Fairfield's schools and attended briefly the University of Illinois and Murray State University. He married his high school sweetheart Reta Harlan on Oct. 6, 1963. Two children were born to them, and she and the children survive. Mr. Mathews returned to Fairfield and took over operation of the newspaper's commercial printing plant, which he continued doing until his death. He was very active in community affairs and was a long-term member of the Fairfield Industrial Trust, the Fairfield Rotary Club, and the First United Methodist Church. Mr. Mathews served as chairman of the Fairfield National Bank board of directors. And in 1976, he helped form the Frontier Community College Foundation. Surviving are his widow, Reta Mathews of Fairfield; one son, Tad of St. Louis, Mo.; one daughter, Angela Ash of Alpharetta, Ga.; two grandchildren, Ben Ash of Philadelphia, Pa., and Kate Ash of Alpharetta, Ga.; one brother, Tom Mathews Jr. of Fairfield.