Daryl Jon Matson
1954 - 2015
Daryl Jon Matson passed following a courageous battle with cancer on November 11, 2015.
Daryl was a Selah native attending Selah schools from kindergarten to high school graduation in 1972. Following graduation, he attended Yakima Valley Community College and then the University of Washington where he studied business and communications. He was a loyal Husky fan maintaining season tickets and attending as many as games possible. His advice for young people selecting a college was to “Make sure they have a good football team.”
After college graduation, Daryl returned home to work with the family business, Matson Fruit Company, where he worked with harvest trucking and dispatch and managing the cull fruit inventory. As the business grew and became more complex, Daryl formed and managed the HR department for the company. He was extremely thorough and thoughtful in all that he did for the employees of the business.
Daryl was intellectually very curious. He was an avid reader using books to expand his knowledge on a variety of topics and interests, from sports stadiums to President Lincoln’s assassination.
He was known for his wonderful sense of humor and the joy he shared with his family, especially at Christmas.
Daryl was the son of Joan (Bakker) and Richard “Dick” Matson and the brother of Rod (Carmen) Matson and Bradley Matson (Melissa Taylor) and many nieces and nephews.
The award in his honor was created by his family in his memory. It provides college scholarship opportunities to children whose parents are employed at Matson Fruit Company.