Leone Wallace Matthew

Leone Wallace Matthew, age 78, passed away on Saturday, July 20th, 2024. Leone was preceded in death by a list of family and friends, all beyond lucky to have been loved by her, and survived in death by an even longer list of family and friends also beyond lucky to have been loved by her.

Leone was the wife of Ken Matthew and mother to Christian Matthew and Marcie Matthew. 

Sometime after typing a term paper for her high school crush, she agreed to date him. He quickly realized that she was “the one” and boldly proclaimed that someday they would marry. He was right. In August 1967, after four years of dating throughout college, they married. 

Leone and Ken spent 61 years together, 57 of them as husband and wife. Can you even imagine? For 61 years, these two souls existed in a harmonious and continuous state of awe, mutual respect, love, and unwavering support of each other. They frequently exchanged banter, served as steadfast partners during hard times, shared inside jokes, always remained on the same team, and were wholeheartedly in love. Ken held her hand and fumbled with her wedding band as she took her last breath. 

Leone also assumed the role of mother, life manager, and unofficial problem solver for both her children, Christian and Marcie. She adored them and dedicated her life to their happiness and well-being. This might be questionable in terms of creating emotionally independent adult children, but if you’re lucky, nobody will ever love you or prioritize your best interest more than your mother. Her children know they won the lottery when they were assigned Leone Matthew as their mother. 

Her loveliness did not rob her of a sense of humor. Being surrounded by an immediate family full of jokes and “smart aleck” Matthew genes, Leone had mastered many iterations of the eye-roll. She was witty and quick to offer an intelligent retort if she deemed it worthy. However, it was delivered with the grace, nonchalance, and precise timing of any true clean comic.

Leone and Ken were both dedicated teachers on the Gulf Coast until retirement. To this day, if you run into a former student, many will undoubtedly declare them as their favorite teacher. Their children often garner immediate clout merely by association. 

For 14 years, Leone proved to be a formidable opponent of stage 4 breast cancer and the subsequent deterioration of her body due to aggressive treatments. Witnessing this war of relentless, brutal battles of her strong mind vs. her broken body was impressive, humbling, and excruciating for everyone that loved her so dearly. 

Leone was holding on in fear that her absence and loss would be too significant a burden for her family and friends to bear. To her family and anyone who knew Leone, her illness and suffering were confusing and unfair at best. Her family and friends remain grateful and heartbroken that she physically suffered to spare our hearts. 

Leone had a special, life-long relationship with God and Christianity without being self-righteous or sanctimonious. She simply walked the walk instead of talking the talk. You know, like Jesus.

Her faith was instrumental in overcoming the endless hurdles of adversity placed in her path. She jumped each hurdle while putting each lesson learned into her striped, linen pant pocket. She seemed wise enough to understand that life doesn’t happen to you but rather for you. 

Life is for the living. Grief is for the living. Healing is for the living. Obituaries are for the living. It is hard to reconcile someone so powerful no longer physically being here while moving forward with all that living we are expected to do. 

Many people are facing the impossible question of “Who am I without Leone Matthew?” 

The answer is that you are the same person but a better one for having known her. You will never be without someone who harnessed the power, warmth, safety, and overwhelming love of Leone Matthew. Love is energy. Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It will just take a different form. Her love and guidance are now boundless and will surround her family and friends, and her relationships with us will continue to evolve and grow. 

Even in her physical death, her reliability and unconditional love will remain unmatched. We will never be without her. We can, with all certainty, rely upon knowing she is with us in every circumstance moving forward. We will not tether ourselves to her physical death but instead to her spirit, her love, her guidance, her influence, and all the moments of her life that she so gracefully lived. She was and is so much greater than her illness and physical death. 

Anyone doubtful of the validity of these claims of Leone’s unparalleled loveliness and general perfection should feel free to verify them with any of the aforementioned family and friends she left behind. 

For anyone that was not bestowed the gift of knowing Leone, her family welcomes you to reach out to her spirit if you require daily reminders for a routine doctor’s appointment you may have four months away, panicked requests to call “as soon as you get there,” precautions for driving in light rain, warnings to be cautious while on or around ladders, etc. Her spirit can also be reached for an abundance of warmth, care, encouragement, concern, and advice regarding the essential everyday trials of life. 

It was imperative to Leone that her family fiercely love each other and remain intact after her passing. Her daughter’s sole possession of and ability to execute her cornbread dressing recipe will ensure the success of this wish. 

In place of flowers or bundt cakes, the family requests that any fiduciary instruments be used to honor Leone’s kindness, such as donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or your local no-kill animal shelter or dog rescue. 

Visitation will take place this Saturday, August 10th,2024 at Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home on 15th Street in Gulfport from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.