By BENNETT HALL
Gazette-Times reporter | Posted: Friday, July 11, 2008 12:00 am
There was more laughter than tears Thursday as nearly 200 people gathered at First Congregational United Church of Christ to remember Jean Mater, the diminutive but dynamic matriarch of a distinguished Corvallis clan who died Sunday at the age of 92.
A number of family members attended to eulogize Mater in a memorial service that focused on her legacy of love and achievement.
"She wasn't a typical grandmother," said granddaughter Elana Mater. "She didn't just sit and bake us cookies."
Jean Mater was far too busy to do much baking. Trained as a chemist, she worked for Bell Laboratories during World War II. After the war, she moved to Corvallis with her husband, Milt, where they bought a small machine shop. Together they built Mater Engineering into one of the leading consulting firms in the forestry industry. Jean Mater went on to earn a doctorate in forest products chemistry at Oregon State and became a respected voice on forestry issues.
After Milt's death in 1991, Jean Mater carried on the business with her younger son, Scott, and his wife, Catherine. Mater and her daughter-in-law continued to run the family firm after Scott died of cancer in 2002.
Mater was a prolific volunteer, helping to launch the local chapter of Altrusa International in 1958 and taking active roles in Benton County Republican politics and the Military Officers' Association of Corvallis. In 1974, she was named president of the Corvallis Chamber of Commerce and helped recruit Hewlett-Packard to the city. She was named Corvallis First Citizen in 1975 and Senior First Citizen in 2006.
She held a number of leadership positions in business organizations statewide, including stints with the Governor's Employment and Training Council, the Oregon Consortium, the OSU College of Business Advisory Council and the Private Industry Council. She also sat on the board of the Portland branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Mater valued education highly, said granddaughter Alexa Mater, a graduate student at the University of California at Santa Cruz who said she expects to become the next "Dr. Mater" in the family.
"Grandma's been a special mentor for me because I've spent a lot of time as a woman in a male-dominated field," she said. "Not always easy, but it's a lot easier now because of people like Grandma."
Grandson Josh Mater, who followed his father and grandfather in military service with a commission in the U.S. Army, read "In Flanders Fields," an ode to fallen soldiers that Jean Mater used to read each Memorial Day.
"She was a little woman who cast a giant shadow," said daughter-in-law Sharon Mater. "We're going to miss you, Mom."
Mater's older son, Portland software entrepreneur James Mater, was the last to speak.
"She was short but not shy. She was a rebel with a cause - in fact, many, many causes. She was a dreamer who used her dreams to inspire others. And she was a fighter," he said of his mother.
He spoke of her restless intelligence, her constant quest for answers, and the disarming smile and wink that could take the sting out of the most relentless interrogation.
"I imagine her now, quizzing St. Peter - and even God, if he's there - about why the rules of the universe are as they are," he said.
"She will always be an inspiration to all of us. She saw possibilities no one else sees. Rest in peace, Mom."