Dorothy Ellen Boyd Matthews' Obituary
Dorothy Ellen Boyd Matthews, known to those who love her as Dot, Dottie, Mom, MawMaw, MeeMaw, and MeeMee, went home to be with her Savior on Wednesday, May 8th , 2019. The steady light of unconditional love, laughter, and care that touched the lives of her family and friends for so many wonderful years will continue to be felt, and have impact, for all of our days and for generations to come. Dot’s amazing strength of spirit and faith never failed, never diminished, even while the years took their toll on her physical health. As a first grade teacher for decades in an East Dallas inner city elementary school, the full measure of her work cannot be taken. She was a transformational teacher who started countless children down the educational path that would empower them and give them the opportunity to escape poverty and reach their true potential. This was her labor of love. Her professional legacy, like a smooth stone dropped in a pond, is still impacting her former students, and their children, and their children’s children to this day. As a wife, who is now reunited with her one true love, Bill, she embodied what it meant to love, and be in love with, the one she knew to be her soul mate. They rest side by side in this world and they once again walk hand in hand in a better one, that knows not pain or tears. As mother to Cindy and Diane, the seeds of faithful love she planted and nurtured from the moment they were born, truly blossomed in the later years when Dot needed and received as much care and love as she had given to them both all the days of their lives. Dot counted herself as blessed in so many ways but certainly counted being grandmother to Kim, Stevie, Nikki, Beka, and Ashley and great-grandmother to Audrey, Alex, and Dax as one of her greatest blessings and, true to her nature, an opportunity to be a blessing. She loved all of them with all of her heart. Of all the things she loved and enjoyed (and there were many), the family gatherings she hosted in her home were her greatest source of earthly joy. Her infectious laughter and obvious affection for everyone there made these gatherings one of our greatest sources of joy and laughter as well. We have lost count of, but have not forgotten, all of the times we laughed ourselves to tears, told and re-told stories and jokes, and fell asleep on couches and chairs while Dot presided as a quiet and loving matriarch over the day. A member for many years of White Rock Methodist Church in Dallas, it was her private devotional life that set her apart and from which she drew strength. Her rock was Christ, from childhood to the day she left us and is now the One who has welcomed her with arms of everlasting love. Dorothy Ellen Boyd Mathews: a life of love, well lived. Dot is survived by her sister Caroline Greer, daughters Cindy Page and Diane Partain, granddaughters Kim Smothers, Stevie Page, Nikki Page, Rebecca Larsen, and Ashley Gilmore; great-granddaughter Audrey Gilmore, great-grandsons Alex Gilmore and Daxton Larsen. Funeral Service will be held Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at 10am at the Wildwood Chapel in Restland Memorial Park, Dallas, TX, with interment to follow.
What’s your fondest memory of Dorothy?
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Share a story where Dorothy's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Dorothy you’ll never forget.
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