Mr. Jimmy “Wayne” Matthews passed away at his home in Pilot Mountain on Friday, September 11th. Wayne was born on February 1, 1949, in Rocky Mount, Virginia to Thomas Matthews and Addis Cundiff Matthews, both of whom preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Gaitha, two sons, David Matthews of Winston-Salem and Greg Matthews (Sujatha) of Dunwoody, Georgia. He has five grandchildren, Emily, Will, Megan, Maya and Liam. He is also survived by two sisters, Lolene Brown and Sandra Peters (Rich), as well as one brother, Mark (Tracie), along with several nephews and nieces. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Ray Matthews, and an infant sister. Wayne attended college at Danville Community College and Virginia Tech. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a teletype equipment installer and a biomedical technician. Following his military service, he worked in the medical field as both a salesman of medical equipment and a service technician. He founded Pilot Medical Gas, Inc. providing medical gas testing for hospitals and surgery centers until his retirement in 2016. Wayne enjoyed sports, especially golf, which he played regularly until his health began to decline. He loved to watch the Atlanta Braves, Indianapolis Colts and all Virginia Tech sports teams. Wayne was a faithful member of Saint Andrew Lutheran Church. He loved God and his family and he was a much-loved husband, brother, Dad, Granddaddy and Pop Pop.

A celebration of his life will be held on Friday, September 18th at 12:00 noon at Saint Andrew Lutheran Church, 1401 Fancy Gap Road, Mount Airy, NC. The family will receive friends in the fellowship hall at 11:00am.

A special thanks to Mrs. Donna Johnson for all of her care for Wayne for the last two years, and also to Mountain Valley Hospice for their support.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in his honor to the Alzheimer’s Association or Saint Andrew Lutheran Church.