Retired Brigadier General Monroe Glen Mathias, a pilot with Continental Airlines for forty years, died in his Denver home from complications of Parkinson’s disease on April 3, 2025, just shy of his 97th birthday. He is survived by his wife of 67 years Ruth Hudson Mathias, two daughters, three grandsons and numerous nieces and nephews.
Monroe was born on his family’s farm outside Monte Vista, Colorado on May 1, 1928, to Berton Monroe Mathias and Ruth Marion (Higgins) Mathias. His lifelong love of flying began as a young boy after Monroe and his father took an aerobatic plane ride offered by a travelling air show. After graduating from the Sargent school district where his mother taught, Monroe attended Colorado A&M and graduated from Adams State College in 1951 with a double degree in Mathematics and Chemistry. Monroe then briefly taught electronics at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver where a chance encounter with an air national guard recruiter led to him enlisting in the Colorado Air National Guard.
Monroe earned his wings at James Connelly Air Force Base, Texas in 1953 and started a 32-year career with the Colorado Air National Guard on the Buckley ANG Base. He flew the F-80, F-86D & H, F-100 and A-7 while in the guard and served on active duty during the Berlin Crisis and Pueblo Crisis. Upon his promotion to Brigadier General in 1975, he served as Commander and Chief of Staff, Headquarters for the Colorado Air National Guard. Friends and family in the San Luis Valley recalled Monroe “flying over” during training flights with the guard.
Also in 1953, Monroe was hired by Continental Air Lines, at the time a small regional airline based in Denver making short-range propeller flights that often transported more US mail than passengers. As Continental’s fleet and hubs expanded, so did Monroe’s equipment and routes; eventually he captained the Boeing 747 and DC-10 to Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia. In all, he was rated in one civilian, seven commercial and five military aircrafts for a total of well over 27,000 flight hours.
Monroe met his wife Ruth Hudson of Billings, Oklahoma in 1956 in Dallas, Texas where they married on June 1, 1957. Together in the house where Monroe eventually passed, they raised their daughters Monica Mathias (Joe Richards) and Marla Mathias (Ken Takahashi). Monroe most enjoyed spending time with his grandsons Dylan Mathias Richards, Collin Andrew Richards and Joseph Ryan Richards.
Monroe had many interests and hobbies. He was handy, building and finishing his basement himself; he was a dedicated Broncos fan with a season ticket since the 1960s; and he was classical music and pet cat lover. He was known around the community for his dry sense of humor, his positive, grateful attitude about life; and for his triple-carburetor 1963 Ford Thunderbird. His neighbors were familiar with his daily morning “jogs” at Fairmont Cemetery and walking around the block or in his driveway well into his 90’s. Throughout his life, he eagerly awaited arrival of the weekly Monte Vista Journal to keep up with news from his hometown. In his retirement years, Monroe spent many hours helping at his church, Montclair United Methodist, and was an avid member of his men’s coffee group that discussed and solved all the world’s problems each morning.
Monroe was preceded in death by his parents, as well as all his siblings (Gerald Edward Mathias, Francis Marion (Mathias) McConnell, Robert Addison Mathias and Milton Wright Mathias) and their spouses.
Services will be June 2 at 11 a.m. at Burns Memorial United Methodist church 1095 Newark St., Aurora, CO 80010 with a military funeral to follow at 2 p.m. the same day at Ft. Logan Cemetery, 4400 W Kenyon Ave, Denver, CO 80236. In lieu of flowers, several of Monroe’s favorite charities are listed at youtube.com/@MonroeMathiasLegacy.
