Elois Gay Matthews

Moultrie, Georgia – Elois Gay Matthews, age 93, passed away peacefully at home with family on October 9, 2025.

Born November 30, 1931, in Moultrie, Georgia, Elois lived a life marked by kindness, hard work, and faith. From an early age, she showed thoughtfulness beyond her years. At sixteen, she got a job at the Five and Dime. She spent her first paycheck on an electric iron for her mother — a thoughtful and practical way to make her mother’s wash days a little easier.

At age 18, Elois met her husband, J.E. Matthews, at an Evelyn Methodist Church youth gathering playing Red Rover. They shared 63 years of marriage until he passed away in 2012.

A fifth grader at Berlin Elementary when Pearl Harbor was bombed, Elois was deeply influenced by the memory. After being married, Elois served her country as a private secretary to Mrs. Kilgore at the Air Force’s Hawthorne School of Aeronautics at Spence Field from 1951 until 1961 until the base closed.

Elois soon found her calling at the public library, where she served the community for six decades. As a reference librarian, she developed a love for genealogy research, helping countless families uncover the names and stories of past generations. Driving the bookmobile was another great joy, bringing stories and information to those who couldn’t make it into town. She worked at the library into her nineties, fueled by her love of learning and her fellow librarians who became dear friends.

Her faith in God was steady and unpretentious — the kind that showed up in both action and word. A devoted member of Evelyn Methodist throughout her life, she lived her beliefs through prayer, service and love.

At home, Elois found peace and purpose in keeping things running — whether it was cooking healthy meals, collecting monarch chrysalis, or tending her garden. She had no patience for idleness - well into her later years, she could still be found on her four-wheeler, harvesting pecans, proving that a little age doesn't have to slow you down.

Elois is survived by her daughter, Debra Matthews Cervetti Hampton and her son, Joseph Ephraim Matthews III; her sisters, Bobbie Jean Gay Harris and Shirley Gay Dampier; her brother, Dickie Gay; her granddaughters, Chelsi Gene Cervetti Miller, Calais Cervetti Kruse, and Caylin Cervetti Moen; along with eight great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert Gay Sr. and Flossie Louette Plymel Gay, along with her husband, Joseph Ephraim Matthews Jr., and her brother, Robert Gay Jr.

She will be remembered for her faith, strength, and warm laughter — a woman who never stopped learning, giving, or loving. She lived fully, shared freely, and left behind a legacy of warmth, wit and wisdom that will be felt for generations.

A celebration of her life will be held at 11:00 AM, Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at Cobb Funeral Chapel. Interment is at Hopewell Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 10:00 until 10:45 AM, Wednesday, at Cobb Funeral Chapel.

Cobb Funeral Chapel has been entrusted with arrangements.