A life shaped by service

Colonel Tom Mathews, DO, JD (COM 1979), doesn’t give to receive recognition. He gives because he believes responsibility follows opportunity.

“Kansas City University (KCU) is where everything began,” he said. “If I didn’t have that education, I wouldn’t have had the ability to take such great care of my patients.” 

His interest in osteopathic medicine began well before he formally considered medical school. Early in his marriage, when he and his wife were trying to start a family, they sought care from an osteopathic physician in Texas.
“He was great,” Mathews recalled, crediting the physician’s approach with leaving a lasting impression.

Following his graduation from West Point, Mathews was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, where he served in the Medical Service Corps. Although he was not yet practicing medicine, the assignment placed him in close proximity to medical training and physician leadership, prompting him to begin seriously considering a career in medicine. 

It was a significant decision—and one that required sacrifice. To pursue medical school, Mathews gave up his commission and entered the Health Professions Scholarship Program, which paid for his medical education in exchange for a service obligation. During his rotating internship, he discovered his calling. “In my internship year, I realized I had to do something with surgery,” he said. When his wife asked what he enjoyed most, the answer came easily. “That was OB-GYN.”

That decision set the course for a career that took him around the globe. As an obstetrician-gynecologist, Mathews served in military hospitals overseas, including an assignment in Vicenza, Italy, where he was one of only two obstetricians in the region. The work was professionally demanding—and personally formative.

Rather than living on base, Mathews and his family settled into civilian housing, immersing themselves in the local community. His children attended Italian schools and learned the language. “It was an incredible place to live and work,” he said.

After leaving active duty, Mathews continued his service in the Army Reserve. He was later activated during Operation Desert Storm and assigned to a medical evacuation hospital. The conditions were stark, resources were limited and communication with home was infrequent. Care often had to be delivered without the tools physicians typically rely on, requiring adaptability and steady focus under pressure.

He treated American troops, Iraqi prisoners of war and local civilians alike—performing the first surgery at the hospital and later the last. He also delivered a baby by C-section, a rare reminder of everyday life in an otherwise austere setting.

Throughout his service, Mathews was keenly aware that his ability to focus on patient care depended on support beyond the hospital walls. When he was deployed, his family was living in Garden City, Kansas, where the community stepped in to ease the burden on military families by eliminating utility bills for those called to serve. He never forgot the generosity his family was shown.

“That kind of support matters,” Mathews said. “It makes service possible.”

Years later, he returned to KCU as a faculty member, serving as associate professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology, where he drew on decades of clinical and military experience to prepare students for the realities of medical practice.

Teaching, he said, felt like a continuation of service. He worked closely with students pursuing demanding specialties and advised those considering military service, including through the Military Club, which he had helped establish years earlier. Having navigated both medicine and military life, he understood the challenges students faced—and the support they would need to succeed. 

As such, he established the Matthews Military Award Fund to support graduates entering military service. He has also supported scholarships within obstetrics and gynecology.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” Mathews said. “In most cases, you can’t go through life just keeping everything. You’ve got to give back to the people who brought you where you are.”

For Mathews, giving back is an extension of the responsibility that has guided his life—from military service to teaching—and a reflection of his belief that opportunity, once given, should be passed on.