Doug Mattis Obituary, Death – The news that my brother Doug Mattis had passed away after a very protracted illness was delivered to our family late last night (Thursday, February 9th, 23). He was 56 years old. It’s hard for me to say how many of you knew my brother personally, but he seemed to have connections to (what seemed like) millions of people all over the world. He won multiple figure skating championships, which established him as a well-known figure in those communities.
Doug was able to live his life exactly how he desired to live it. He never followed the crowd and always made his own decisions, which he always stood by, along with his own personal beliefs. It wasn’t always the case that things worked out for the best in the end. Sometimes the decisions and directions weren’t the “popular choice,” but he drove that direction 100 percent regardless and dealt with any ramifications that came about as a result of it.
In my view, the majority of the skating community welcomed him with open arms and showed him a great deal of affection. But it seemed like there were always “administrators” who judged him differently for whatever reason and gave him a hard time. (At least, that was my impression.) To say the least, he was a “free spirit,” which I don’t believe they appreciated because they didn’t think it was “good for the sport.”
In later years, Doug became an advocate for human rights and fought against discrimination of any kind, especially against members of the gay community. He is remembered as a champion for human rights. His political beliefs would occasionally get him into trouble, and he would not be afraid to lose friends over the beliefs, actions, or words that he held due to those beliefs. In the end, he turned into a very private person and rarely communicated with anyone outside of a very close knit group of loved ones.