Joan LaVerne Mathis

Joan LaVerne Mathis was born to Zela Francis Dunlap and Byron Luke Dunlap on June 30, 1940 in Jack County, Texas. She attended school in Bryson, Texas, graduating in 1958. Upon graduation, the senior class voted her most beautiful. When she told the story, she laughed and let you know that her graduating class consisted of only ten people. On November 28, 1957, which was Thanksgiving Day, Joan married Rex Lee Mathis at her home in Jermyn, Texas. On the morning of the wedding, she cut chrysanthemums frosted with ice to use as decorations. This year, Thanksgiving again falls on November 28 and marks 67 years since the couple’s wedding day. Joan and Rex lived primarily in Jacksboro, Texas, but for a short while, they lived in Graham, Texas. They had three children: Tina, Lee, and Wanda. In 1965, Rex was transferred to Pennsylvania, so the family loaded up the station wagon and headed to Bradford. After two short weeks, they headed back to Texas where you could at least get a Dr. Pepper. Rex quit his job, and the family moved to Abilene, Texas. Joan worked as a housewife while her children were young, then in the mid 1970’s, she went to nursing school and became an LVN. She worked at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, Texas for 25 years before she and Rex moved back to their land in Jacksboro in the mid 1980’s. She worked at Graham Regional Hospital as an LVN and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. From that time until she retired in 2006, she worked as a registered nurse in Graham. She and Rex moved back to Abilene in 2015 where she lived out the rest of her life. Joan took great pride in her grandchildren, and the kids’ visits to Jacksboro included plenty of fun and food. Often, Joan led hunts for rocks, fossils, and dinosaur bones, of which they found many. Only later did the grandchildren learn that the bones were actually those of unfortunate cows. She was a member of Broadview Baptist Church in Abilene. In Jacksboro, she was a member of the First Baptist Church. Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Rex Lee Mathis Senior who died in 2017. She was also preceded by her parents, brother Donald Ray Dunlap, brother Jerry Leon Dunlap, and her brother-in-law Donald Mathis. She leaves a sister, Patsy Glascock (Elvis) and a brother Darrell Wayne Dunlap. Also left behind are three children, Tina Wyatt (Jay), Lee Mathis (Kellie), and Wanda Gregory (Tommy). She also leaves behind six grandchildren, Mitchell Wyatt (Lindsey), Chelsie Harruff (Blake), Jason Gregory (Krystal), Jennifer Lovelady (Adam), Amy Simmons (Tyler), Kristen Newton (Josh), and ten great-grandchildren. We will honor her life with a small graveside service at Wesley Chapel Cemetery where she will once again join Rex, whose loss she grieved until the end of her life.

Joan LaVerne Mathis

June 30, 1940 - November 25, 2024