Born in Louisiana, Matthews moved to Los Angeles when he was 18. He was a materials handler for McDonnell Douglas Aerospace in Long Beach, and as a side job he delivered newspapers. When he retired from Douglas in 1990, he still had his side job; the paper promoted him to district advisor, helping the younger carriers, and he never retired from that position.
But his true love was the zydeco and Cajun music of his home state, and the dancing that went along with it. “He lived, ate and breathed” dancing, said his wife, Vivian. He would teach zydeco jitterbug, the Cajun waltz, the Cajun two-step and the Cajun hustle at the annual Long Beach Bayou Festival and similar events. On Sept. 10, he was performing zydeco dances at a fund-raiser for victims of hurricane Katrina when he collapsed and died on stage from an apparent heart attack. He was 68.