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Mrs. Shirley Alice Connell Mathews was born March 3, 1931, in West Palm Beach, Florida to Susan Bridges Connell and Shelley Connell. She grew up in Belle Glade, Florida, where she attended elementary school through high school with many lifelong friends, including the love of her life, Robert Earl Mathews, Jr. A few months after high school graduation she and Mr. Mathews were married. They attended Stetson College in Deland, Florida, where she was an art major and he attended law school.
After college, and then after her husband’s service in the Army, they moved home to Belle Glade where she was an active community member and raised her two beloved sons. She was a valued, greatly loved, well-respected member of her community. In 1990 she and her husband moved to North Carolina. She was an active member of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Hayesville NC until last year when she moved to Cuthbert, GA to live with her son, Charles. Her love for the Lord and her great faith were evident in the life she lived. She served as a Gideon International Auxiliary Member, along with her husband who was a member of Gideons International.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her Great Aunt Rosa Lee Thornton, her son, Robert Earl Mathews, III, her grandson Charles Gerald Mathews, Jr., her brother-law Tom Wilder, her daughter-in-law, Sissy Mathews, and other beloved family members. She was devoted to her family, and her beautiful life will forever be cherished in the lives of her children: Charles Gerald Mathews, Sr. and her daughter-in-law, Karen Ashley Mathews who was married to her late son, Robert. Also left to cherish her memory are her sister, Linda Connell Wilder, and her nieces and their families: Debbie Adler (Marshall), Tammy Woodham (Randy), and Kelly Howell (Kevin).
Grandchildren left to cherish her memory are: Robert Earl Mathews, IV (Brenda), Melissa Mathews Palumbo (Mike), Terri Mathews Kellerman (Keith), Vicki Taylor McLeod (Keith), Sonny Taylor (Nicole), and Kimberly Taylor Scott (Brody).
Great grandchildren left to cherish her memory are: Isla Palumbo, Anna Kellerman, Emma Kellerman, Dylan Frandsen (Alana), Stephen Crider, Cade Crider, Macie Taylor, Millie Taylor, Zoe Scott and Xander Scott. Great-great grandchildren left to cherish her memory are: Romeo Frandsen and Taylor Frandsen. In lieu of flowers, the family asks those who wish to remember her give donations to Gideon’s International.
Graveside funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 AM on Saturday, July 6, 2024, in the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Dawson with her family officiating.
LUNSFORD FUNERAL HOME
CUTHBERT, GA 229/732-2148
