(This article by Kristin Davis is part of the MOAA Charities Impact Report, which can be downloaded at this link. The report first appeared in the December 2021 issue of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members. Learn more about the magazine here; learn more about joining MOAA here.)

When Army Col. Curtis Mattison passed away on May 6, 2015, he left behind six children, including 12-year-old triplets Amalie, Dylan, and Noah. Barely two years earlier, doctors had diagnosed Mattison with Stage 4 renal cell carcinoma. A head-sized tumor had all but taken the place of his kidneys. He applied for medical retirement right away.

By the time the Army processed his request, Mattison had fallen into a coma. When he died six days later, his widow, AnneLena, learned that he had received a regular retirement rather than a medical retirement. The difference meant fewer benefits for his family.

“Had he been medically retired, the children most likely would have had college covered. Instead, we were left on our own,” said AnneLena, who served in the Marine Corps. “We always promised our kids we would pay for them to get a bachelor’s degree if they lived up to their potential.”

A MOAA scholarship is helping to make that promise possible. Amalie, Dylan, and Noah, who graduated from high school in May, are recipients of a fund established by the late Brig. Gen. John Paul Ratay, USA, for families with a military member who retired and then passed away. The family initially applied for interest-free loans, but MOAA staff determined they were eligible for grants instead. The grants are renewable as long as funds are available.

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Ambitious Plans

Noah and Amalie both want to be doctors. At 18, both are already nationally certified phlebotomists and community college graduates, thanks to a program that allows eligible high school students to enroll in college courses. They entered the University of North Carolina at Wilmington this fall as juniors.

Dylan is attending a local community college and plans to transfer to a four-year university next year and major in theater arts. He acts and sings in local theater productions.

“I want to say how grateful I am for this. It’s really going to make a huge difference for my kids and for me. It will give them a better start in life,” AnneLena said.

When Mattison died in 2015, he had served his country for 37 years, 11 of them on active duty. A Mustang, “his dream since he was a little boy was to become a general,” AnneLena said. He got his master’s, went to War College, and was eligible for his first star when he was diagnosed with cancer.

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Days after his triplets’ first birthday in 2003, Mattison headed to the Middle East, where he served for 17 months. During that time, AnneLena said, he was exposed to burn pits and depleted uranium. He’d also been a nuclear technician during his enlisted time. He filed a claim with the VA; it was denied the same month he died.

For his four youngest children, ages 12 and 14, the death came at an already volatile time.

“This is a really bad time to lose dad. There’s never a good time, but I was expecting fallout,” AnneLena said. “We never really had that. I tried really hard to raise them as best as I could. ... I feel very fortunate that they’ve weathered this so well. All of them.”

Noah has spent the years since Mattison’s death thinking about cancer and ways to cure it. He wants to become an oncologist and eventually go into cancer research.

“They’re really smart kids. Their dad was smart. But it takes more than intelligence,” AnneLena said. “They’re all very driven. They have goals they want to accomplish. I’m very, very proud of them. They’re going to do great things. I often think of how proud Curtis would be.”