MARY GUAGENTY MATTHEWS


MARY GUAGENTY MATTHEWS
LOUISBURG - Mary Guagenty Matthews, wife of the late Louisburg attorney John Frederick “Jack” Matthews, died Monday, September 6, 2010. 

Mrs. Matthews was born on March 8, 1910 in Framingham, Massachusetts, to the late Sebastian and Clementina Del Poio Guagenty. 

She received a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Radcliffe College (Harvard) and a Master’s degree in chemistry from Duke University.  It was while in graduate school at Duke that she met her future husband, Jack Matthews. 

After marrying in 1938, the couple moved to Louisburg where Jack had established his law practice. 

They had two children; John Frederick “Johnny” Matthews, II, who died in 2006, and Kelly Matthews.

Mary worked as Assistant Dietitian with her close friend and neighbor Taylor Pearce at Louisburg College in the early 1950s.  Later she owned and operated Matthews Insurance Agency in Louisburg. 

Mary enjoyed reading, attending classical concerts, travel, and art.  She was a talented painter.  In the 1970s, Mary and Taylor Pearce were instrumental in establishing an art class for senior citizens in Franklin County through collaboration with Vance-Granville Community College. 

She became the oldest student at Louisburg High School when she took Spanish classes under Alicia Eller.  She eventually acted as a teacher’s aide. 

Mary was an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Louisburg, where she sang in the choir.

On March 8, 2010, she celebrated her 100th birthday.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, two brothers, and one sister, all of Framingham, Massachusetts, and her son Johnny of Louisburg.

Survivors include one daughter, Kelly Matthews, and one granddaughter, Cassidy Matthews, of North Garden, Virginia.  She is also survived locally by a close friend and neighbor, Joseph A. Pearce, Jr. 

A funeral service will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Louisburg on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 5 PM. 

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, P. O. Box 247, Louisburg, N.C. 27549.

Arrangements are by Strickland Funeral Home, Louisburg.

www.stricklandfuneralhome.net

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