February 13, 2023
By Landry Brewer
A founding brother in Oklahoma’s First Family of Furniture was born in Beckham County.
Charles H. “Bud” Mathis was born in Elk City on Oct. 13, 1933, to Homer and Ima Mathis. The youngest of four boys, his brothers were Don, Ray, and Wayne.
The family moved to Texas and Arkansas during the Depression but eventually made their way to Oklahoma City where Bud graduated from Capitol Hill High School.
Bud served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to ’55. When his military hitch ended, he and brother Don opened Mathis Brothers Furniture in Oklahoma City.
Bud was a singer and guitarist, and Mathis Brothers Furniture created a country music television show, “Country Social,” that aired on Oklahoma City’s WKY TV. The show attracted nationally-known country singers George Jones, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Conway Twitty, and Merle Haggard, and it was hosted by Bud, who also performed.
Intending to retire, Bud moved to Phoenix in 1966. Don bought out his share of Mathis Brothers Furniture and moved it to a different location.
Bud retained ownership of the original building on Western, though. Having returned to Oklahoma City, he opened Bud Mathis Furniture and operated it there from 1985 to ’87.
He moved to Tulsa in 1993 and opened another Mathis Brothers Furniture store. He stayed until 1999 when he moved to Arkansas, returning to Tulsa in 2003 to open the Evans Furniture Store.
Bud officially retired in 2011 and passed away in Tulsa in 2019.
One of the original Mathis brothers of Oklahoma’s First Family of Furniture, Bud Mathis was born in Elk City.
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