Teacher killed in beach accident remembered for passion for music and helping others

When Ken Matthews began his career at North Hills Jr. High School in 1971, the Bicentennial caught his eye.

It was a few years away, but he thought a fife and drum corps would be fun to have for the celebration, former Central York High School band director Paul Grill remembered on Friday.

That fun group, as well as the musicians and bands he worked with in his 35-year career with Central York School District, were writing Facebook posts in remembrance after Matthews’ death was announced.

Matthews, 73, was killed while body surfing Thursday in Avalon, New Jersey.

“There was one witness who saw a large wave and he got slammed down into the sand,” Avalon Police Captain John Rosco said Saturday afternoon. “We are still waiting for the report from the medical examiner, but it was basically just a really tragic accident.”

Grill said Matthews spent a lot of time at his house in Avalon and spent a lot of time in the water.

“Ken went the way he wanted to go,” Grill said. “He always said ‘when your time’s up, your time’s up.’ Well, yesterday at 6 p.m., his time was up.”

Matthew’s wife, Kay, called Grill Thursday night with the news. The two were like brothers brought together by a love of music.

Matthews came to the school district four years after Grill and started at the elementary school level. When Grill moved to the high school, Matthews took his spot at the then-junior high school.

North Hills is where Kelly Rohrbaugh met Matthews as a student.

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A flute player in elementary school, she joined the fife and drum corps in seventh grade. A generation later, her daughter, Ryan Grace Beauchamp, was a member of the drum line for Matthews’ corps.

“She just saw [Matthews] this week,” Rohrbaugh said of her daughter. “He always asked how my parents were doing, and this time she had to tell him my dad died.”

Rohrbaugh said she’ll remember Matthews for loving what he did, and the passion he had for his music and his students.

“For me, I wasn’t an athlete,” she said Friday. “I was smart, but music made me fit in. I started out a flute player, but he taught me alto sax and that opened up so many opportunities in high school.”

Rohrbaugh, who lives in Manchester Township, remembers traveling with Matthews for various music functions. She said he was part of the chaperoning group that went with the Ambassadors of Music on a 21-day tour of Europe in between her sophomore and junior year of high school. They were both among the adults who went with the high school band’s trip to California when her daughter was a freshman.

“I teased him that he was along for all of my big trips,” Rohrbaugh said.

Matthews retired from teaching in 2003 after 35 years. He kept busy with his church’s music program, volunteering with the Red Cross and singing in the York Symphony Chorus.

“He was so busy all of the time,” Grill said. “He would have helped anyone or anybody. He was really an amazing person.”

Rick Worley was working in the West York School District music department when he met Matthews. And when Matthews’ retirement was announced, Worley knew he wanted the job.

“I had a lot of interest in going to Central,” Worley said Saturday. “Once I got the job, he invited me to shadow him for the day. Over time, he was very involved in making a smooth transition. Any time I had a question he was very gracious with his time.

“We struck up a good friendship over the years.”

Worley said a plaque dedicated to Matthews’ years of service hangs in the back of the middle school auditorium where he directed so many concerts.

“I use it as a reminder to not mess things up,” Worley said.

In the early days of the fife and drum corps, plastic fifes were used and the drum line played a simple cadence that would have been historically accurate. Uniforms consisted of knickers, puffy “Seinfeld” shirts, ribbed socks, elastic buckles over black shoes, brocade vests and tri-corner hats.

The staple songs were “Yankee Doodle,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “Chester.”

Worley said little has changed over the years.

“Yankee, Battle and Chester are still the main songs and the drum cadence is pretty much the same,” he said. “It’s a little bit longer, but still pretty simple. It’s something you could imagine a 14- or 15-year-old playing at that time.”

The uniform has evolved to include a jacket and a snappier hat. And although musicians start with plastic fifes, they advance to wooden instruments after successfully passing two songs.

Matthews had been helping to plan the fife and drum corps’ 50th anniversary. He will still be a big part of that celebration when it happens, just like Worley is trying to figure out how to incorporate his initials somewhere on the uniform.

“We’re thinking about putting KHM somewhere on the hat,” Worley said. “And certainly we will be making some kind of dedication to Ken at the anniversary.”

Worley said the family, which includes son Andrew and daughter Lauren, will hold a private service and hope to hold a public celebration of life when the COVID-19 pandemic allows.

“I told his wife if the celebration gets too big for the church, we could look at the middle school auditorium,” Worley said.

If Facebook comments and messages are an indication of the lives that Matthews has touched, they might want to think about using the high school football stadium instead.

“Central’s music program has always been good,” Grill said. “The accolades I received for the band, that’s OK, but Ken Matthews sent me fine musicians. He knew what he wanted and how to get it out of them.”

Shelly Stallsmith is a trends reporter for the York Daily Record. She can be reached at mstallsmith@ydr.com or followed on Twitter at @ShelStallsmith.