Barbara Jean Mattison

Barbara Jean Shedden
Mattison, went peacefully
to meet her Lord and Sav-
ior, Jesus Christ on Jan. 5,
2026, where she, no doubt,
got to hear the words she
longed to hear, Well done,
my good and faithful ser-
vant.
Barbara lived a life of
service and always put
others first. She was one of
the founders of Toccoa
Life, Inc. and served as di-
rector of the organization
for over 30 years, where
her life and ministry
touched thousands of indi-
viduals across Northeast
Georgia. Their annual
Toccoa Life Christmas
parties allowed them to
stay in touch with, and
continue to serve, many of
the lives they touched.
Barbara and her husband
were honored for their
leadership of Toccoa Life
and decades of selfless ser-
vice to their community
by Georgia House of Rep-
resentatives Resolution
2100 in 2010.
But, her two greatest
loves, and the ones she
aimed to serve most, were
Jesus Christ and her fami-
ly. She loved to tell anyone
and everyone about either.
Barbara was a humble and
devoted wife, a loving
mother, an adoring grand-
mother and great-grand-
mother. She emulated
Christ's love for others by
providing countless hours
of prayer, counseling, a
listening ear, and a shoul-
der to cry on for all of
those hurting and in need
around her.
Barbara was married to
John T. Mattison Jr. for
over 71 years. They had
six children: Linda (Doug)
Snow; John T. Mattison
III; Laura (Bob) Wallace;
Jim Mattison; Kathy (Eric)
Bennett; and Kenneth
(Lisa) Mattison. She had
18 grandchildren: Ryan
(Cassie) Snow; Eric Snow;
Mark Snow; Austin (Kate)
Urey; Rick Mattison; Rob-
by (Helena) Wallace;
Joshua (Allison) Wallace;
Stephen (Melissa) Wallace;
Daniel Wallace; Jonathan
Wallace; Grace Wallace;
Hope Wallace; Nathaniel
Bennett; Laura Riley;
Anna (Frank) Marrone;
Isaiah Bennett; Elizabeth
(Dalton) Cofer and An-
drew (Audrey) Mattison.
And, she had 15 great
grandchildren: William
Snow; Cathryn Snow;
Thomas Snow; Hannah
Snow; Emmett Urey, Ellen
Urey, Bobby Ray Wallace;
Lilliana Wallace; Connor
Wallace; Blakely Wallace;
Raegan Riley; Mattison
Cofer; Kinley Cofer; Titus
Cofer and Judah Mattison.
Barbara was preceded in
death by her parents,
William Shedden and
Kathleen Shedden.
Barbara was born in
Hendersonville, N.C., and
attended Washington Sem-
inary (High School) in At-
lanta, Ga., then Agnes
Scott College. She attended
North Avenue Presbyteri-
an Church, where she met
her loving husband, John.
The two raised their chil-
dren in Atlanta and con-
tinued attending North
Avenue where she was in-
volved in women's and
children's ministries.
They moved to Toccoa in
1975.
Barbara had a passion
for children, both the born
and unborn, and wrote
several children's books to
entertain her grandchil-
dren, whom she loved
spending time with. The
house was always full with
her six children, all of
their friends, as well as
several nieces that came to
live with the family: Mari-
lynn (Bob) Braude, Arlette
Jordan, Donna Moran, and
Laulie Shedden.
In lieu of flowers you
may make donations to
Toccoa Life, Inc., 61 White
Pine Road, Toccoa, Geor-
gia 30577 or Global Samar-
itans for the benefit of Dal-
ton & Elizabeth Cofer (her
granddaughter), www.-
globalsamaritans.org.
Funeral services will be
Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, at 2
p.m. in the Hillcrest
Chapel of the Acree-Davis
Funeral Home with the
Rev. Andrew J. Mattison
officiating. Grandchildren
will serve as pallbearers;
Ryan Snow, Eric Snow,
Mark Snow, Austin Urey,
Rick Mattison, Robby Wal-
lace, Joshua Wallace,
Stephen Wallace, Daniel
Wallace, Jonathan Wal-
lace, Nathaniel Bennett
and Isaiah Bennett.
The family will receive
friends at the Acree-Davis
Funeral Home on Thurs-
day from 1 p.m. until the
service time. Online con-
dolences may be left for
the family at www.acree-
davisfh.com.
Interment will follow in
the Toccoa City Cemetery
with the Rev. Chad Smith
officiating. Acree-Davis
Funeral Home and Crema-
tory is in charge of the ar-
rangements for Mrs. Bar-
bara Jean Mattison.