The Rev. Lex S. Mathews died Dec. 21 [1985] at Morehead City. He had been director of Christian Social Ministries for the diocese for the last 11 years. Mathews died on his sailboat, the Credence, which was moored at the time. Death was by accidental asphyxiation of fumes from a heater on the boat. He was 57. The death occurred with no warning and near the height of the Christmas season; there was little time to spread the word about the memorial service Dec. 23 at the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill. Still the chapel was filled to overflowing that day as hundreds of Mathews’ friends came to honor him… . Mathews had left instructions that four hymns be sung at his funeral. Each reflected an aspect of the man:

His love of the sea: “Eternal Father, strong to save …”
His passion for peace: “God the Omnipotent! King who ordainest / Give to us peace in our time, O Lord …”
His abiding faith in people as bearers of the Gospel: “They cast their nets in Galilee / Before they ever knew / The peace of God that filled their ears / Brimful, and broke them, too.”
His powerful life-force: “Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!”

(Source: “Lex S. Mathews dies,” The Communicant, January 1986, p. 12)