Heaven rejoices at the arrival of Harriet T. Mattox on April 25, 2014 after 98 years of spreading Joy and Wisdom during her earthly journey. We mourn her passing with smiles and memories of the many acts of kindness and compassion she shared with family and friends as well as any fellow traveler she encountered.
Harriet Estelle was born in Baltimore MD on March 8, eldest daughter of Harry and Estelle Treakle. She was the wife of the late Travis Mattox, mother of five children, grandmother to three, and great grandmother to four. She was predeceased by two sisters, Doris and Winfrey; one brother, Henry; and one son, Paul.
Harriet grew up in the White Stone, Virginia community beside George's Cove on the Rappahannock River. She studied two years at State Teachers College in Fredericksburg and then started her secretarial career at the Phillip Morris Tobacco Company in Richmond VA where she met Travis who worked for the DuPont Company. They married in 1938 and Harriet became a mother and homemaker in support of Travis' career with Dupont in Delaware and Martinsville, interrupted by his 3 years of Army service in North Africa during World War II. After Travis' death in 1956, Harriet resumed her professional career working with the Tuberculosis Association, the Martinsville-Henry County Mental Health Association, and the secretary to several principals of Martinsville High School.
After her children completed their college degrees Harriet opened Address-O-Type, a small business providing secretarial, printing, mass mailing and copying services for more than 20 years to large and small businesses in the Martinsville and Henry County area. She and her sister, Doris, moved to the Kings Grant Village in 1994.
Harriet led and participated in many community organizations. She was a faithful member of Anderson Memorial and later First Presbyterian Church. She used her talents to support medical, mental health, education, housing, poverty relief, and many other charitable causes. In lieu of funeral tributes, memorial contributions to mental health research, the Harriet and Travis Mattox Endowment for Honey Bee Research (Virginia Tech University Development 0336, 902 Prices Fork Rd., Blacksburg, VA 24061) or the charity of your choice are appreciated.
Harriet is survived by her children Bill (Alison), Anne, Henry, and Charles; her grandchildren, Adele, Trey (Shelley), and Sam (Margaret); her beautiful great granddaughters Eliza Rose, Lucy and Caroline Mattox and Noel Lackey and many loving nieces and nephews.
A memorial service at the Victory Chapel at King's Grant is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 2, 2014.