Grace Mathews

As those who knew Grace Mathews would say, her life exemplified what real grace looks like. She was a woman of poise, humility, and selfless compassion whose focus was continually on those around her rather than on herself. A devoted wife and loving mother, Grace enjoyed family life, but found time for church, friends, and a myriad of activities as well as working full time. Guided by an unwavering faith, she was a witness to others by the way she lived her life each and every day. Grace is remembered for her beautiful smile and a zest for life beneath a quiet reserve. She will be deeply missed, but her timeless legacy will be carried on by those who follow in her footsteps. In the interval between WWI and WWII, Rev. Tosuke and Shimo Ota were blessed with the birth of a baby girl on February 8, 1925. Grace Megumi was one of five children in her family, and she was born in Anjo, Japan. She was the only child in her family to be born in Japan as her father moved their family to Long Beach, California, where her sisters, Mary, Setsu, and Esther, and her brother, Peter, were born. When her father later accepted a call as minister to a Japanese Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, Grace was in high school. America was drastically changed with the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This event greatly affected the Ota family when one week later the authorities came and ransacked their home and took her father to jail for three months without being charged with anything. He was later released under the care of the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. This was understandably a very difficult time for the Ota family. In fact, their challenges didnt end there. As the oldest of five children, Grace was also a constant presence in raising her younger siblings after the death of her mother when Grace was around 14 years of age. After graduating from high school, Grace went on to graduate from Westminster College in Salt Lake City. She later received her MA in Education from Columbia in New York City. Graces diploma was signed by Dwight Eisenhower when he was president of Columbia! Not to be forgotten during Graces years as a young woman was her introduction to a young man at Union Theological Seminary. His name was Don Mathews, and their first date was for a square dance at the Jewish Center in East Harlem. After completing her education, Grace worked for three years as the Christian education director at East Williston Community Church, which was Presbyterian and Congregational, on Long Island. About three years later the couple decided to marry as long as their parents approved. Grace and Don received the blessing of their parents and were later married on August 30, 1953, in her church in East Williston. Together they were blessed with the births of three children, Mark Ota, Timothy Leroy, and Elizabeth Hastings. After living in Kalamazoo for nine years, Graces husband accepted an invitation to work in Mombasa, Kenya, via the Presbyterian Church in America at the invitation of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. Grace taught school there for six years, and after moving to Nairobi she taught kindergarten at St. Andrews. In 1973, the family moved to Muskegon, Michigan, where Grace worked in the Muskegon Public School System. As a mother Grace was patient and loving while treating her children with respect. The Mathews family loved being together. There were regular game nights, and as Mark and Tim grew older and took guitar lessons there were family sing-a-longs, too. When in Kenya they invited friends over for homemade ice cream from the ice cream maker they had brought all the way from the U.S. Both her faith and her church family were important aspects in Graces life. Although she was not overbearing in her beliefs, it was easy to see that faith was alive in her heart. Grace served a term as an elder at First Presbyterian Church and was also one of 28 Presbyterian women who traveled from the United States to Australia on an exchange visit for two weeks in 1990. Traveling was always something that Grace enjoyed. They took several special trips including a canal boat trip in Britain, visiting friends from their Kenya days, and driving through France and Germany in an RV as well as several trips to Japan to visit family. Grace retired from Muskegon Public Schools in 1988, and shortly after Don retired in 1990 they took two of their grandchildren, Chris and Lauren, with them to stay in an elder hostel in Vermont, followed by a drive to New York City. Don and Grace also made the trip to Japan twice to visit Beth and her husband after their daughter Caroline was born, and Don baptized Caroline while there. In addition to traveling, Grace was a member of the teachers union and a special birthday group, part of various ministries at church, and a member of several committees at Synod. She enjoyed sewing, reading, golf, and watching her grandchildren in their sporting and school activities. Throughout their married life that spanned nearly 61 years, Grace and Don were an amazing example of what marriage is truly intended to be. Whenever Don said, Well, weve had a really good 55 years (or whichever number of years they were celebrating at the time), there would be a pause before Grace would reply, Most of the time, with a smile that acknowledged that they both knew just what she meant. At the suggestion of their children, Grace and Don moved to Roswell, Georgia, in 2013 to be closer to their daughter, Beth, and her family. Grace Mathews was a woman who was truly beautiful on the inside and out. Although she was usually quiet, she also wasnt afraid to speak her mind when she felt passionately about something. Grace was a true help meet to her husband, a nurturing caregiver to her children, and a gracious encourager to all. Grace will be forever missed while the memories she leaves behind remain a lasting treasure for those who knew her. Grace Megumi (Ota) Mathews died on Friday, August 1, 2014 at 12:20 a.m. at Northside Hospital in Atlanta, GA. Grace was born in Anjo, Japan on February 8, 1925 to the Rev. Tosuke and Shimo (Takeda) Ota. Her family came to the U.S. in 1928. Her three sisters, Mary (deceased), Setsu, and Esther (deceased) along with one brother, Peter (deceased), were born in the U.S. Grace grew up on the West Coast of the U.S., and in Salt Lake City where she graduated from Westminster College. She then attended Teachers College of Columbia and Union Seminary in New York City, graduating from Columbia in 1950. Grace worked as a Christian Educator at East Williston Community Church for three years. She married the Rev. Donald Mathews in 1953. In 1962 she and her husband Don traveled to Kenya where she taught in the national school system. After eleven years in Mombasa and Nairobi she and Don returned to the U.S. and settled in Muskegon, Michigan where she worked in the Muskegon Public Schools until her retirement in 1988. In January 2014 she and Don moved to Roswell, GA to be near their children. Grace leaves husband Don; three children, Mark, Timothy and Elizabeth; four grandchildren, Christopher, Lauren, Amanda and Caroline; and two great grandchildren, Grace Claire and Rae Elizabeth. Services will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2014, 2:00 PM at First Presbyterian Church.