Virginia June Mathews

Virginia June Klein Mathews Mrs. Virginia June Klein Mathews, of Cleveland, died Friday, Jan. 22, 2010, at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, after a brief illness. She was 82. Mrs. Mathews, or “Ginny,” as her family, friends and grandchildren often called her, was born in Milford, Kansas, on Dec. 3, 1927. She was the daughter of Cornelius Peter and Julia Marie Shea Klein, and grew up in Wymore, Nebraska. Her father was a station manager for the Union Pacific Railroad. In Nebraska she met and married Jack Heman Mathews, on Aug. 20, 1949. They brought up three sons, and lived in several areas of the United States before settling in Cleveland in 1978, as one of the first Roman Catholic families in the area, and one of the founding families of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in White County. Mrs. Mathews was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, who died in 1991. She is survived by her sister, Rose Ann Moran, of Littleton, Colo., and brother, Joe Klein, of Richfield, Minn., as well as by three sons, Earl Lynn Mathews, of Greenville, S.C.; Richard Alan Mathews, of Roswell; and Steven Michael Mathews, of Cleveland; and three daughters-in-law, Eva Mathews, of Greenville, S.C.; Carolyn Mathews, of Roswell, and Celia Mathews, of Cleveland. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Chelsea (Jon) Peeples, of Greenville; Vanessa Mathews, of Greenville; Adam Mathews, of Suwon, South Korea; Eric Mathews, of Washington, D.C.; Jay Mathews, of Cleveland, and Jackie Mathews, of Cleveland. Many close friends within the St. Paul’s church community will also miss her presence among them. Mrs. Mathews was a creative artisan, with an eye toward artful presentation. She also was an entrepreneur, as the owner of several local businesses, including VeeJay Creations, Jax Yogurt and Xtras, and, most recently, Ginny’s Fudge and Nuts. The fudge that bears her name is known and savored by many throughout the Southeast. She also loved to travel, and especially enjoyed cruises with her family and visits to her sister’s home in Denver. Even though her sister lived so far away, they stayed in touch each night with a shared phone conversation before they went to bed. A Celebration of her life will be held at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, 2010, with a reception following in the Parish Hall. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mental Disability Rights International (www.mdri.org) or The White County Food Pantry. Barrett Funeral Home in Cleveland (www.barrettfh.com) had charge of arrangements.