Pauline Thelma Mattson

Longtime Quincy resident, Pauline Thelma Mattson, 92, passed away at her home on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. She was born May 12, 1923 in Weaversville, NC to Hillard and Ella Cole. She was delivered in the home up the Sugar Creek road where her parents were renters. She joined sister Dale. Later they were also joined by brothers, Boyd and Thomas, and sister, Madge. Pauline graduated from Flat Creek High School, in Stocksville, NC in 1943. After high school, she paid her way through college by working at Inka Inc. and the fabric shop located behind the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. She graduated from Peoples Bible College in Greensbourgh, NC, in 1953 with a Bachelors of Theology. After graduation, Pauline went to Oregon to visit a girlfriend. While there, she enrolled in nursing classes at the Multnomah County Hospital, where she earned a nursing degree. During her years as a nurse, she had many different jobs, including delivering babies and working at a nursing home. She returned home to North Carolina and worked in the infirmary of Brevard College in Brevard, NC. Pauline returned to Nampa, Idaho, where she continued nursing. One day, the relative of one of her patients asked for her address. While she thought the request was odd, she gave the lady her address. Sometime later, she got a letter in the mail. That letter was from Kenneth Mattson of Quincy, the lady's neighbors' son. After some correspondence, Kenneth and Pauline met. They married July 8, 1959 in Quincy. Pauline and Kenneth had three sons, LeRoy, Robert and Eddy. The family was actively involved with the Quincy Friends Church. Pauline didn't like to see anyone who came at dinner time leave her house hungry. Sunday dinners were always a big deal with many church friends present. She was always feeding anyone who showed up. Many memories were created around her kitchen table. After Kenneth retired from farming in the 1990s, the couple made several trips to Arizona, where they volunteered for mission organizations. Pauline liked to sew and crochet. She made many blankets, pillows, and clothes. She was most proud of the skirts onto which she embroidered birds, flowers and birdhouses. She also loved gardening. She always had excess to share with others. Her green thumb also extended to flowers. She was always buying new plants to set out around her house. Her favorite flower was the geranium. She also like hostas. She had the ability to make plants thrive, even plants that had been pulled up by their roots. Pauline was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth Mattson; parents, Hillard and Ella Cole; and sister, Dale Wright. She is survived by her three sons, LeRoy Mattson, of Spokane, Robert (Jedonne) Mattson, of Colorado, and Eddy (Charlotte) Mattson, of Quincy; grandchildren, Rachal (Jonathan) Pinkerton, of Quincy, Joel Mattson, of Quincy, and Lynae Mattson, of Colorado; great-grandson, Daniel Pinkerton, of Quincy; brothers, Boyd (Doris) Cole, of Oregon, and Thomas (Grace) Cole of Asheville, NC; sister, Madge Jarvis, of Weaversville, NC; sister-in-law, Jean Mattson, of Quincy; and numerous nieces and nephews scattered across the United States. The funeral will be held on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 12:30 p.m. at Quincy First Church of the Nazarene. Interment will be at Evergreen Memorial Park, in East Wenatchee.

Pauline Thelma Mattson

May 12, 1923 - January 7, 2016