FAIRFIELD, Ill. — Well known Fairfield woman, Mabel Audrey “Marge” Mathews, 88, the widow of the late publisher of the Wayne County Press, T.O. Mathews, died at 1 a.m. Nov. 1 at Fairfield Memorial Hospital.
Mrs. Mathews had been a patient in the hospital for the past six months, suffering from a deteriorating heart problem.
Funeral services were held at Johnson and Vaughn Funeral Home, with Rev. Doug Rorex officiating. Burial was in Maple Hill Cemetery.
Mrs. Mathews was born June 21, 1921, in Washington, the only child of Charles and Lois (Ackman) Cunningham. She grew up in Washington. Her father owned and operated a creamery, delivering milk daily to customers.
At the age of 18, she was married on Oct. 15, 1939, to T.O. Mathews who was 28, after the two met on a train. She was headed to Akron, Ohio, to visit relatives. He was en route to Cincinnati, Ohio, with the specific task of looking for a wife. At that time, T.O. was a part owner of the Wayne County Press.
She moved to Fairfield and joined her husband. She was a homemaker and housewife who also assisted in various tasks at the newspaper operation when needed.
Mrs. Mathews raised her two sons at the family home at 500 E. Center in Fairfield. In later years, she and her ailing husband bought the former home of Tom Duncan off Enterprise Road where she lived the remainder of her life until she became a resident of skilled care at Fairfield Memorial Hospital.
She was an active member of the First United Methodist Church.
Surviving are two sons, Charles Preston (Reta) Mathews and Tom Mathews Jr., all of Fairfield; four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Mathews was preceded in death by her husband on Dec. 28, 1999; her parents and an infant son, Robert Wayne.
Memorial contributions may be made to Fairfield Public Library.
(Nov. 1, 2009)
