Steve Matheson’s cousin said the lightning killed him almost instantly.
Matheson, 47, a father of four from Utah, was jet skiing with a friend off Fort de Soto, Florida, around 6:35 p.m. Saturday when the pair spotted a broken-down boat. The two had already started toward shore because a storm was building, but Matheson stopped to help the stranded boaters once he realized they were in trouble. The storm kept moving until it was nearly directly overhead, his cousin Marianne Matheson Shuman said affiliate KTVX.
“The lightning took him pretty quickly,” she said.
“Even in his last moments he was helping and serving strangers,” Shuman added.
Matheson died after being transported to a local hospital. He is survived by his wife, Abbie, and their four children.
His friend April Beck described him as a devoted husband and father whose family came first. “His family was his greatest joy, and he cherished every moment he was able to spend with them,” Beck said.
“He was the kind of husband and father who loved deeply, showed up fully, and made his family the center of his world.”
Beck also highlighted Matheson’s religious devotion. “Steve also had a strong and unwavering faith in his Heavenly Father and his Savior, Jesus Christ,” she shared. “As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, his faith was an important part of who he was and how he lived his life. His love for his family and his faith were evident in the way he treated others and the life he chose to live.”
Friend Mitch Faas recalled Matheson’s immediate response when he needed help moving fireworks ahead of the Pioneer Day holiday, which commemorates Brigham Young and the first Mormon pioneers’ arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. “He showed up with his oldest son and jumped right in, just like he had for our shows over the last several years,” Faas said.
Faas disclosed that his final text to Matheson read, “Thanks for always being someone I can count on bud.”
“Always brotha,” Matheson wrote back. “We appreciate you and are always willing to help.”
Aaron Boone, another friend, said Monday that he and Matheson had planned to play flag football together. “We shared a love for competition and football, but more importantly, a strong faith, a love for our families, and a soft spot for kids,” Boone wrote.
“One thing I’ll always remember about Steve says a lot about the kind of guy he was,” Boone continued. “His dad used to come watch him play flag football all the time. After his dad passed away a couple of years ago, Steve kind of took my father under his wing at the games, almost as if he were his own dad. He always made a point to sit with him, make sure he was comfortable, talk with him, and visit before, during, and after the games.”
Matheson’s death is the 13th lightning fatality in the United States this year, according to the Lightning Safety Council. The tragedy came six days after Kennedi Glasgow, 2, and her mother Kenya Glasgow, 31, were killed by lightning in Margate, Florida, in front of their family.
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