Matthew was born February 19, 1925 in Columbus, Ohio, to Mathew A. and Alice Elson.  He was married 63 years to the light and love of his life, Dorothy Jean Rosser, who died September 9, 2012. He has waited a long time to see her again. He is survived by his children Christine, Mark (Mary Lou) and Susan (Michael), grandchildren Matthew (Andrea) and Martha (Ryan), and great-grandchildren Amelia, Andrew and Nellie, and was preceded in death by his only sister, Mary.  He was proud of being the youngest Eagle Scout in Ohio in 1939 and of being a Fellow of the American College of Radiology.  This is his life in his own words:

“Jan. 1943- Graduated Columbus North High School-enrolled Ohio State University in pre-med. Enrolled in the Navy V-1 Jan. 1, 1943. July 1, 1943 V-1 became Navy V-12 and I was assigned to Colgate University pre-med program. Excellent program. The Navy promoted all varsity sports. I was on the track team- Indoor & Outdoor- Eastern school, Madison Square Garden- Excellent 2 Mile relay team!! Nov. 1, 1943 assigned to Sampson Naval Hospital, Geneva N.Y. as a Corpsman. Applied to Ohio State College of Medicine and accepted to Freshman Medical School August, 1945 as a midshipman. Released to Naval Reserve Jan. 1, 1946. For 3 years I dated your mother, Jean, and we were married Dec.26, 1948. Mother also graduated from Ohio State majoring in Psychology, July, 1948.

“I graduated from OSU College of Medicine July, 1949 and began my Internship at the Minneapolis General Hospital 1949-1950. At this point, Uncle Sam re-entered the picture and said, “the Navy put you through pre-med and part of med school so now it’s ‘pay back time’.” Thus, I was assigned to the U.S. Air Force for 21 months as a Captain- Long Beach, and Beal Air Force Base, Marysville, CA. We returned from California in 1952 to Ohio State Medical Center where I had a residency in Radiology 1952-1956- I then was on the Radiology Staff at OSU 1956 rising to Associate Professor in 1961. At this point, I was offered the position as Chief Radiologist at a new hospital West Allis Memorial Hospital. The hospital grew rapidly as did the department in diagnostics, isotopes, and radiation therapy from 1 radiologist to 6 when I retired in 1991. Our son, Dr. Mark Elson, meanwhile, had completed a residency in radiology at the Mayo Clinic and became a member of the radiology staff. My outstanding honor was being voted a Fellow in the American College of Radiology in 1984, Montreal, Canada.

“In retrospect, after 25+ years of retirement, I am simply amazed at the advancements in all parameters of the field.

“And so Godspeed- - I feel honored to have participated in the field of Radiology over these years.

“Matthew W. Elson, MD, FACR”

She’s Not Gone

by Henry Van Dyke

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch until at last she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says, “There she goes!”

Gone where?

Gone from my sight. . . that is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment when someone at my side says, “There she goes!” there are other eyes watching her coming and their voices ready to take up the glad shouts “Here she comes!”

And that is dying.

Good-bye, Dad!

The family would like to thank the staff at Brookdale for their kind and compassionate care to Matthew in his final days.

In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to the charity of your choice in Matt’s memory.  A celebratory gathering of his life will be held in Spring 2018.

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