Natalie Mariah Matthews transitioned to her Heavenly home on Monday, March 3, 2025, in Georgia. She was born on December 16, 1939, in Bristol, Virginia, to Mary Haden and Denver Franklin Wheeler.

Natalie grew up in Bristol, Virginia, and graduated from Douglass High School. At the age of seven, she began playing the piano; she was later able to attend Morristown College on a music scholarship and studied classical music. Natalie continued her music education at Virginia Intermont College. She then moved to Washington, D.C., and married Carl Robert Martin. Together, they had one son and one daughter. Following the death of her husband as well as her father, Natalie moved back to Bristol. She then met and married Roy Matthews, Jr.

Natalie has always loved God and her family. Over the years, she attended John Wesley United Methodist Church, New Hope Baptist Church, and most recently, Marietta First Church of the Nazarene. Natalie had a warm and gentle soul that could befriend anyone. Her love and passion for life and people drew her close to her children and grandchildren. She loved them dearly, and they loved her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Mary Haden and Denver Franklin Wheeler; grandparents, Charles Walter and Mary Burks; and Ollie "Tootsie" Stewart, her namesake, Natalie Hamilton, Montrose Gladman, and Carl Robert Martin.

To cherish her memory, Natalie leaves behind her husband, Roy Matthews; children, Anthony (Dana) Martin and Mary (Skip) Jasper; grandchildren, London Celine Jasper and Lyric Milan Nichols; brother, Gordon Franklin Wheeler; sisters-in-law, Linda Sensabaugh and Brenda Matthews; nieces and nephews, Suki Wheeler, Bunny Wheeler, Heather Wheeler, and Ebony and Antonio Nichols; special cousins, Ryan Parks and Tanis Stewart; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Celebration of life services for Ms. Natalie Matthews will be conducted on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 2 pm from Marietta First Church of the Nazarene, 4341 Dallas Highway, Marietta, Georgia, 30064.
A memorial service will be held at New Hope Baptist Church in Bristol, Virginia, at a later date.