Effie Mae Matthews, 79, of Waterloo, Iowa, and formerly of Grove, Oklahoma, died at the Cedar Valley Hospice Home on Saturday, April 23, 2016.

Effie was born on January 27, 1937 in Picher, Oklahoma, the daughter of Leon and Juanita McDonald Gill.

She graduated from Miami High School in Miami, Oklahoma in 1954. She went on to graduate from Pitzies Beauty School in Waterloo on April 25, 1968.

Effie married James D. “Jay” Matthews on December 21, 1958 in Commerce, Oklahoma.

She was a homemaker but had also been an accountant and beautician over the years.

She was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Miami.

Effie is survived by her husband, Jay Matthews of Waterloo; son, Todd (Lori Prior) Matthews of Waterloo, daughter, Shelley (Dave) O’Connell of Cedar Falls, Iowa; three grandchildren: Nicole (Mike Freese) Winstead, Matthew (Alyssa Bradley) Winstead and Jason (Sarah Bell) Matthews; a great-granddaughter, Tayler Mae Freese; and two sisters, Pat Gill of Miami and Oleta Hayton of Oklahoma City.

She is preceded in death by her parents and a son, Jason Brett Matthews.