A Story County supervisor died this weekend from injuries previously sustained in a car accident, leaving a hole in the county government that many say will be difficult to fill.Fred Mathison, 69, served on the Story County Board of Supervisors for 22 years. He died Saturday at Mary Greeley Medical Center, 111 Duff Ave., of injuries from a Dec. 9 car accident on Interstate 35 south of Ames.Mathison’s colleagues said he poured his heart and soul into his job.”Mr. Mathison was a person who really loved county government in general, and Story County in particular,” said Jane Halliburton, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors. “He had a real passion for Story County and its people. I consider it a real honor and a privilege to have worked with him for 14 years.”Wayne Clinton, who recently took office as a supervisor, said Mathison went out of his way to help the people around him.”He reached out to aid me and encouraged me while I was running for the board,” he said. “I remember so well the little things that he would do to try to help people like myself. He was really very people-oriented. He was always willing to sit down, answer questions, point you in the right direction and things like that.”Halliburton said Mathison was passionate about reaching out to people who needed extra help.”Among the things that were priorities would be his great concern for the people of Story County and especially those people who may need some extra assistance, such as young people,” she said. “He was very active in working with youth and children’s services. He’s a person who really believed very much in prevention and trying to help young people stay out of trouble.”Mathison also was instrumental in developing the Story County Community Life Program, which served people with mental health problems or mental handicaps, Halliburton said.”In addition to that, he was a really strong supporter of conservation, and he headed up our activities with Resource Enhancement and Protection funds,” she said. “A number of trails in Story County, as well as other projects in communities throughout the county, have been developed with those funds.”Mathison’s leadership extended beyond Story County to state and national levels, Halliburton said. In addition to serving as president of the Iowa State Association of Counties, he was a member of the National Association of Counties. He also served on the Justice and Public Safety Steering Commission.On the Board of Supervisors, Halliburton said Mathison set a precedent to work in the interest of the citizens and put aside political motivation.”Fred and I are of different political parties,” she said. “We come from different backgrounds and we have different styles, but we worked very well together. That was one of the things that has always been important to Fred in Story County government, that we focus on the situation or the problem, not on the politics. And I think that’s a tradition that Mr. Clinton and I will strive to continue.”The supervisor’s sense of humor and devotion to serving the county will be missed, Clinton said.”He was very keen-witted and very dedicated, and he had a great passion for his job,” he said. “He’s just done numerous things over the 22 years that he’s been in public service for the citizens of Story County.”