Jacqueline W. (Woolfolk) Mathes

Jacqueline Eugenia Woolfolk Mathes, age 107, died on Saturday afternoon, April 16, 2022, in the skilled nursing facility of Presbyterian Village in Athens, GA, where she had lived since August 2021, after moving to Athens in 2018.  Born on October 1, 1914, to John Washington Woolfolk and Annie Letitia Blackburn Woolfolk in Fort Valley, GA, and sister to Elizabeth Woolfolk Moye and Anita Woolfolk Cleveland, Jacqueline outlived all the members of her family, except her youngest daughter.

Jacqueline graduated from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, in 1935, with a B.S. degree in zoology.  On December 29, 1937, she married Frank Alfred Mathes of Jonesboro, GA, a graduate of Georgia Tech in Atlanta, with a degree in mechanical engineering.  After business & sales positions in GA and FL, Al felt called into ministry, and they moved to Decatur, GA, to pursue his B.Div. degree at Columbia Theological Seminary, graduating in 1941.  Together they faithfully served Presbyterian churches for 34 years in 2 very essential positions – pastor and pastor’s wife!  Those included First Church in Meridian, MS; South Highland Church in Birmingham, AL; Granada Church in Coral Gables, FL; Independent Church in Savannah, GA; and Huntersville Church, in Huntersville, NC.  After retirement, they continued to support the Presbyterian Church (USA) with supply and interim ministries in Johnson City, TN; Blowing Rock, NC; and the Charlotte, NC, area.  They traveled the world, yet found their best rest in the NC mountains.  In 1984, they moved back to Birmingham, AL, to live near family, and Jacqueline rejoined the South Highland Church membership, who has offered amazing support the past 35 years.

She will be remembered for her kind and generous nature, her encouraging and caring spirit, her quiet demeanor that always put others first, her strong and protective zeal when needed, her love of music which she instilled in her children, her squeal of delight at seeing the curving highway’s view of the mountains, her life-giving nurture of flowers and pets and hungry mouths at the table, her unsurpassed work ethic, her willingness “to rise to the occasion,” and most of all the grace and perseverance with which she faced all of life, finding the good in everyone and flinging wide her arms to embrace her loved ones.

Jacqueline was preceded in death by her husband in 1992, her daughter Martha Anita Mathes Hopper (Barron) in 2011, her daughter Rachel Clarke Mathes in 2013, and her daughter Elizabeth Ann Mathes in 2018.  She is survived by her daughter Mary Beecher Mathes, former associate pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Athens, GA; her grandson Joseph Alfred Hopper (Smita) of New Delhi/Gurgaon, India; her granddaughter Jacqueline Ruth Hopper James (Mark) of Stanfield, NC; her granddaughter Rachel Barron Hopper Caughran (Jeremiah) of Gastonia, NC; and 10 great-grandchildren, as well as 7 surviving nieces and nephews in GA, SC, Michigan, Illinois, Maine, and Turkey.

A private graveside service was held on April 20, at Westview Cemetery in Atlanta, GA; and a memorial service will be held on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at 10:00 am, in the chapel at Presbyterian Village, 1400 Live Oak Lane, Athens, GA 30606, officiated by the chaplain, Christin Norman.  In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Mathes-Woolfolk scholarship fund at Columbia Theological Seminary, PO Box 520, Decatur, GA 30031; or to the Frank Alfred Mathes scholarship fund at South Highland Presbyterian Church, PO Box 55933, Birmingham, AL 35255.

Heartfelt gratitude is extended to the ever-faithful staff at Oconee Area Home Care, Athens, GA; Golden Home Services, Alpharetta, GA; Galleria Woods retirement community, Birmingham, AL; and Presbyterian Village, Athens, GA, for their gentleness, attentiveness, and care through these final years of a life courageously lived – and to the many residents who also became Jacqueline’s family, bringing joy and hope for each new day.  Blessings and peace to all.

Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, WEST, Watkinsville is entrusted with arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com.