Claud Ernest Mattox

Our beloved father, grandfather and great grandfather, Claud Ernest Mattox went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, September 9, 2025. He left this world surrounded by his loving family. Claud was born to Earl Leon and Eva Ruth Mattox on November 24, 1933, in Jacksonville, Florida. The family lived in the Jacksonville area, where Claud attended Robert E. Lee High School and Baldwin High School. After leaving school, he drove a van for an auto parts store until he joined the Air Force on April 4, 1952. Claud was stationed at Hamilton Field in California, the old Portland, Oregon Air Force Base, Japan and Korea during his enlistment. 

Claud met the love of his life, Margie Ferrell, in August 1953 while he was stationed at the Portland Air Base. They were married on April 3, 1955, at a friend’s home in Vancouver, Washington after Claud ‘s deployment to Korea ended. They made their first home in Fort Worth, Texas where Claud finished his Air Force enlistment. The couple then moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he worked on the family dairy farm for several years before returning to the Pacific Northwest. They lived in various places in Washington and Oregon, before making their long-term home in Salem, Oregon. Claud decided to live with his daughter and son-in-law in Scio, Oregon after Margie passed away in 2024. 

Claud worked as an artificial breeder and dairy farm foreman in Washington and Oregon. In 1965 he decided to change careers, which enabled him to provide a better life for his family. He attended Portland Community College’s welding program and became a state certified welder. After working at several companies over the years as an ironworker, he retired from Canron Industries in Portland, Oregon as the swing shift foreman in 1999. One of Claud’s greatest joys was spending time with his family. He and Margie were inseparable, and it was very rare to see one without the other, even after 69 years of marriage. Claud enjoyed visiting with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and took great pride in their accomplishments. He also liked to travel and go dancing, camping, fishing, hunting and boating in his younger years. He and Margie vacationed in Florida multiple times, celebrated a wedding anniversary in Hawaii, attended shows in Branson, Missouri and witnessed a naval ship their grandson was stationed on being commissioned in Galveston, Texas. Claud joined Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in 2002 and got a great deal of satisfaction from helping with projects at the church. 

In later years, Claud enjoyed going on drives, reading, watching television, working in the yard, doing home improvement projects, and watching Margie play computer games. He developed a close bond with his son-inlaw’s dog, Jed. They watched television and napped together in his recliner, and he loved to sneak Jed food off his plate. 

Claud is survived by his daughter and son-in-law Claudia and Keith Davis; son and daughter-in-law Willard and Patty Mattox; grandchildren Paul and Kristin Davis, Jennifer and Denny Wood, and Jamie Mattox; great grandchildren Daphne and Ameilia Davis, and Makayla, Hailey and Ethan Wood; and brother Arthur Mattox, Senior. In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by his parents, brother Glen Mattox and sisters Eva Baird and Lois Baird.