Obituary of Juanita Matthews

Obituary Juanita Sylvia Matthews, born to Eulalee Garwood and James Alexander Reid on June 17, 1958, in Montego Bay Jamacia. Juanita was educated in an all-girls privet school and graduated from St Benedict High School in 1976. Later Juanita furthered her education by attending Seneca College in Toronto Canada and graduated in 1993. Juanita was a single parent to four kids, Erick, Richard, who proceeded her in death, Natalee, and Nicola. By this time Juanita worked various jobs in the hospitality industry in order to support her four children. Juanita was noticed for her leadership abilities and was promoted to a supervisory position. In 1992 Juanita was contracted to be a hotel manager in the state of Maine, USA. Juanita was overjoyed about the amount of money she made while working in the U.S., so she took on other jobs when her contract ran out. Juanita worked and sent her money home to Jamacia to support her children while building a house over a period of 10 years. In 2005 Juanita’s children were all grown and could support themselves, so she relocated to the United States on a more permanent basis. In 2005 Juanita lived, worked and attended church in Philadelphia PA. One day Juanita heard the Lord speak to her and told her to move to New Jersey - she heard and obeyed. The Lord directed her to Camden where she knew no one, but she knew the Lord. By way of conversation she heard of a room for rent in east Camden at a resident on High Street and the homeowner who rented her the room was named Roseline. Who would know, except the Lord, that this very same lady would later become saved and a member of RYLTC Ministries, Juanita’s church? While living in Camden and commuting to Pennsylvania to her job and church, she began to pray and ask God to direct her to a church in New Jersey. Every day she would pass by this church on Haddon Avenue and was curious about that church, but at the time she would pass by it was closed. One day there were some people in that church, and she stopped in to ask questions about the service and weather they praised and gave God glory like she was accustomed to, and they did. Because of her work schedule she could not make the Sunday services, so she prayed some more to ask God to change some things so she could attend the Sunday service. Shortly after that the Lord made some moves and changed her entire job and gave her a new job with a new schedule with Sundays off. At this point in Juanita’s life, she had no experience in operating an automobile (car), but one Sunday while only walking down the street to church, she stopped to change her shoes to her heels before getting to the church. She stopped and leaned on this car which happened to be a Mercedes Benz, while changing her shoes she spoke to the Lord and said, “Lord bless me that one day I will drive a car like this.” One Sunday after the benediction there was a gentleman by the name of Elder Matthews at the coat rack putting on his coat and seen the sister getting her coat to put on and he asked her if he could help her put her coat on, as he was as he was helping her the Lord spoke to Juanita saying, “There goes your husband”. From that point on they became friends and courted under the radar of the church for a year or more, that friendship turned into love by the will of God. On August 27, 2007, Deaconess Juanita and Elder Matthews were wedded in holy matrimony. Juanita would often say “God didn’t just give her that car, but also the man that drove that car. A year later in 2008 Juanita came under attack of the illness leukemia. Through the prayers of the church, family and friends, God answered and in 2009 sent Juanita home to get busy for Him. In 2012 God spoke to her husband and instructed him to open the doors of a church and to have his wife by his side. July 1, 2012, the church doors of Rejuvenate Your Life Through Christ Ministries opened. On October 13, 2013, Juanita was installed as assistant Pastor. In 2017, she enrolled in Jameson School of Ministry and graduated in June 2019. She did not stop there but continued for the next two years in Jameson School of Theology where she graduated in August 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Theology. Assistant Pastor Juanita Matthews wore many hats in the church, she was the Church Mother, Evangelist, Prophetess, and church custodian. Assistant Pastor Juanita was a woman of order not only in the church but at home as well. God gave Juanita 11 more glorious years after the first bout with leukemia to be a wife that no man could complain about, a mom to the young and older that she did not birth and a spiritual friend to many. On September 7, 2021, at 6:24 after giving God praise she took her last breath and stepped out of this life into the next level of her life to that place we all want to be (Heaven). Assistant Pastor Juanita leaves to cherish her memories: Her forever loving husband, Rev. Dr. Bruce B. Matthews; two sisters, Melva Reid of Jamacia and Angela Reid of Jamacia; one son, Erick Bowman of Jamacia; two daughters, Natalee Bowman-Hall of Jamacia and Nicola Walcott-Gray of New York; one stepdaughter, Yolanda Matthews of New Jersey: one stepson, Marcus Matthews of New Jersey; one stepdaughter in-law Keara Matthews, 11 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren, a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends along with a loving church family at Rejuvenate Your Life Through Christ Ministries