Everett man’s legacy will live on in Lynden

Published 11:24 pm Saturday, October 4, 2008

At work, he was “Mr. Fix-it.”

That’s easier than Matthew Williams’ official title at the Everett Public Works Department, where he started on the job in 1990. Before lymphoma took his life on May 28, Williams, 49, worked as a small tool and equipment repair technician.

After his death, co-workers, supervisors and fellow members of his union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 113, made donations to buy a “Mr. Fix-it” plaque. It’s on display near the lunchroom at the Public Works building on Cedar Street.

The plaque has a picture of him, hammer in hand, and the inscription “In Memory of Matt Williams.”

In Lynden, near the Canadian border, dozens of newly acquired antiques are on display at the Lynden Pioneer Museum. They, too, are in memory of Matt Williams. At work, he was Mr. Fix-it. In his spare time, Williams was Mr. Collector.

“He had all these collections. Going through his house, I didn’t want them broken up. I wanted them kept as a collection,” said Williams’ father, Donald Williams, who lives in Cottage Grove, Ore. “I didn’t want to sell them on eBay.”

Matt Williams often visited Lynden, where he exhibited machinery at the Puget Sound Antique Tractor &Machinery Association shows.

From his son’s estate, Donald Williams gave the Lynden Pioneer Museum his son’s vintage coffee grinders, Red Wing Stoneware crocks, old engines and antique motion lamps.

The elder Williams has made four trips moving the precious load from Everett to the museum. He plans to be there Oct. 17 to demonstrate the coffee mills at the museum’s annual heritage night open house.

“It was a huge donation,” said Troy Luginbill, curator of the Lynden Pioneer Museum. “For sheer size, the numbers of things, it’s an amazing collection. Usually the only collections we get of that size are newspapers or journals.”

The Lynden Pioneer Museum, a nonprofit supported by memberships, admissions, gift shop sales and donations, is “a giant museum for a small town,” Luginbill said. “It’s three stories, 28,000 square feet, nearly three-quarters of a mile worth of exhibits. There is an appreciation of history here.”

Luginbill said the donation from Williams’ estate was unique both for its size and its condition. “Matt was an excellent collector. The entire collection is beautifully preserved. Things were in near-new condition. Those that weren’t, he had begun to restore,” Luginbill said.

The Red Wing crockery is one example of the care Williams took. “Many had their original lids. Red Wing made stoneware from the early 1800s until the 1930s or ’40s. It was very common for that period, but it broke easily,” Luginbill said. Williams’ crocks were unbroken.

Luginbill is thrilled with the extensive coffee-grinder collection. “The story of coffee is really quite underestimated in the United States. After the Revolution, it really became the drink of choice. Pioneers loved their coffee,” he said.

Altogether, Luginbill estimates the donation is worth about $40,000. He hasn’t finished studying the items. If something turns out to be one of only a few in existence, that could boost the value.

Matt Williams never married and had no children. He was a devout member of Everett’s Madison Community Church, where a new church was built on property he once owned.

“He was just a real nice guy, someone who would do anything for anybody,” said Matt Welborn, utilities finance manager at the Everett Public Works Department. “His dad told me stories. When he was a little boy, he would hang out and eat lunch with PUD crews. Matt knew more about electricity at 8 or 9 years old than I know today,” Welborn said. “And he was quite a little pack rat,” he added.

Matt Williams’ antiques are in Lynden, but Welborn has Tosha, a Labrador-shepherd mix who needed a home after her master died. “She’s a sweetheart,” Welborn said.

He said Williams showed tremendous courage as his illness progressed. “He died over Memorial Day weekend, and he worked the Thursday before. Not many realized how sick he was,” Welborn said.

At the Lynden museum, Luginbill said the Everett man left a significant and lasting gift.

“A lot of people don’t think about their legacies,” he said. “Matt had that concept, there was a legacy to leave. He indicated that clearly to his dad. Differences are always made through acts of selflessness and generosity.”

Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.