Jamieson Matthias ’50

Jamie died Nov. 8, 2010, of natural causes in southern California. He was described by a fellow Princetonian and friend of 25 years as “a quiet and gentle guy with a puckish sense of humor.”

Jamie came to Princeton from Minnesota. He was a cheerleader and a member of the Outing Club and Quadrangle. He graduated with honors in history.  

After graduation, he spent a year and a half at the University of Michigan Law School, and then worked in advertising until 1955, when he entered the Princeton Theological Seminary. He was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church in 1958.

His first church was in Hyattsville, Md. In the mid-1970s he moved to California, where he established a ministry at the Chino Prison outside Los Angeles. His 18 years of prison chaplaincy, a difficult and at times unrewarding ministry, was probably the most successful of his many accomplishments.  

In the 1980s, Jamie was pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Colton, Calif. His last pastorate was the Community Presbyterian Church of Redlands. He retired in the 1990s, becoming an ardent football and baseball fan.

Jamie married Charlena Harvey in 1986. To Charlena and daughter Rosalynn, we extend our sympathy.