She was married to our dad, Kenneth Ray Mathis, for over 40 years and they both raised us 4 boys. Can you imagine the loads of laundry she did. Between the daily suds and making impression molds for Dr. Jack Fisher, you could find her at some sporting event of ours; and believe me between the 4 of us, we played a lot of games. Somehow even with all of that going on, she found time to prepare a warm meal for us every night except for Sundays…hey even God rested on the 7th day. How she worked in some time to teach Sunday School at Hickory Baptist Church during those days I’ll never know. Always personable, you could see her kindness when she’d stop and chat with someone she knew…and she knew a lot of folks. In her later years, you could find her, once again, at a local sporting venue watching her grandkids carry on the Mathis tradition or mowing that yard of hers…and that yard got mowed more times than Quaker’s got oats. Her love was boundless. Her heart was genuine. That was mom. She will be missed…
Her survivors include her sister-in-law, Genice Gibson of Bardwell; her four sons, Ray Keith (Leshia) Mathis of Hickory, Rodney Kent Mathis of Mayfield, Robin Kevin (Denise) Mathis of Nashville, TN., and Roger Kyle (April) Mathis of Hickory; her grandchildren, Gage Mathis, Ryan Keith (Kennedy) Mathis, Raychel Mathis, Marley Mathis, Jake Mathis, Roman Mathis, Raygon Mathis, Mason Kilgore, Kalin Kilgore, Hayley Warner, and Shelby (Jarrett) Hines ; her great-grand children, Cannan Sykes, Kylie Hines, and Cooper Hines.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Zilpha Summerville, her brother, Robert Summerville, her husband, Kenneth Mathis, and her granddaughter, Tori Waggoner.
Funeral services for Mary Carolyn Mathis are scheduled for 11:00 AM Saturday, February 1, 2025 at the Byrn Funeral Home in Mayfield, KY. Rev. Brett Miles and Rev. Barry Summerville will officiate. Interment will follow in the Highland Park Cemetery in Mayfield, KY. Visitation will be held from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM Friday, January 31, 2025 at the funeral home.