Clara Jackson-Mathis

HARRISBURG - Clara Jackson-Mathis, 51, of 4381 Winterwood Lane, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007, at her home. Funeral service will be Monday, Nov. 19, at 10 a.m. at Spirit of Faith Worship Center, 764 Sunderland Hall Road, Concord, with the Rev. James Howard officiating. Burial will follow at National Cemetery in Salisbury There will be a public viewing today from 3 to 8 p.m. at Lamb Funeral Home. Clara was born in Powhatan, La., on July 26, 1956, to O.V. Jackson-Hall and Mr. L.C. Prelow. She met Calvin Mathis en route to a tour of duty at King Salmon, Ala., and consented to be his wife shortly afterward. They were married in Sept. 1990, and reared four children, their combined families. Clara accepted Christ under the tutelage of the late Rev. K.P. Jones, pastor of Saint John's Baptist Church of Powhatan, La., and claimed the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal savior until the day of her death. She passed this life in the early morning on Nov. 14, in her home, with her loving family by her side. Clara joined the U.S. Air Force in 1975, shortly after graduating from Allen High School in Allen, La. As with everything she has done, she served with honor and distinction until she retired as a master sergeant in April 1999. She earned numerous medals and awards, the highest being the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal. Clara accepted employment as an administrative assistant of the Urban Institute at UNC-Charlotte, where she remained until she became ill. She was a member of the Spirit of Faith Worship Center in Concord. Clara's legacy is her love for family and for all of God's creatures. Her strength and influence is reflected in the lives of her children, as well as all she touched. She leaves to celebrate her life, her husband, Calvin Mathis; two daughters, Stephanie L. Jackson and Candra J. Mathis of Harrisburg; two step-sons, Calvin Mathis Jr. of Atlanta Ga., and Patrick Mathis of Seattle; her mother, O.V. Jackson-Hall of Powhatan, La.; father and mother-in-law, Robert and Margaret Mathis of Concord; five sisters, Linnie Townsend, Gracie Hall, Izetta Hall and Lucy Hall, all of Milwaukee, Wis., and Mary Graham and husband, Norman, of Springfield, Va.; four brothers, Lawrence Hall and wife, Claudia, of Kuwait, Larry Hall and wife, Susan, of Milwaukee, Wis., Abraham Jackson of Corpus Christi, Texas, and Edward Jackson and wife, Rebecca, of Fort Richardson, Ala.; sister-in-law, Kim West and husband, Shannon, of Simpsonville, S.C.; and two-brothers-in-law, Rodney Mathis and Jeffrey Mathis, both of Concord. She will be fondly remembered by a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends. Lamb Funeral Home is serving the family. Online condolences may be left at www.lambfh.com