Mr. Lamar Matthews, retired assistant chief of the Associated Press Bureau, died August, 16, 2010. A native of Wikes County, GA, he was 85. Mr. Matthews was cremated. Matthews attended Atlanta public schools and entered military service at the age of 18. He served three years in the Army artillery, two of them in the South Pacific in WWII. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Journalism in 1948. Matthews was a member of the AP’s national broadcast task force created in 1950s to examine and improve broadcast writing in the various AP bureaus around the country. As news editor and later as ACOB, he helped develop the Atlanta Bureau into the first regional production center in the nation. He continued to play a key role in news and business affairs of the Atlanta bureau until his retirement in 1987. Survivors include his wife, Lisa Brooks Williams; brother and sister-in-law, Walter and Evangeline Matthews of Albany, GA; niece, Barbara Ann Matthews; and nephews, Karl and Jim Offermann. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Yoga Institute of Atlanta, 743 Virginia Ave., #310, Atlanta, GA 30306. The family will receive friends to be announced at a later date at A. S. Turner & Sons.
