Dr. James “Jim” Williams Mathews, Jr.

War Damn One of a Kind. That’s what Jim Mathews was.

Jim was born in Montgomery, AL, to the late James Williams Mathews, Sr. and Lorene Etheridge Mathews. He grew up in rural Lowndes County, raising chickens and making mischief. He learned his love for the land and people of Alabama from his father and uncles who worked as county extension agents in his early years.

Told by his father that he would be a doctor one day, Jim graduated from tiny Hayneville High

School in 1959 and then from Auburn University in 1963. In 1968, he received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical College of Alabama in Birmingham. There he met and married the love of his life, Carolyn, and they went on to spend the next 57 years together. Jim continued his medical training at the University of South Alabama in Mobile and as a Captain and physician the United States Army at Fort Benning.

In 1974 Jim and his family moved to Auburn where he joined Internal Medicine Associates and spent the next fifty years taking care of countless patients in Lee County and the surrounding area. He believed strongly in service to others and over the years donated his time, talent, and medical knowledge to organizations including East Alabama Service for the Elderly, the EAMC Foundation and Administrative Board, and Camp Seale Harris overnight camps for youth with diabetes. He also played a key role in founding Mercy Medical Ministry and Clinic in Auburn.

He is a longtime member of Auburn United Methodist Church, where he served on the Administrative Board and was active in AUMC missionary work in Zimbabwe, Panama, Bolivian, and Venezuela.

Other than service to family and community, Jim’s one true passion was all-things Auburn. He was the official “War Eagle” call leader at Auburn Rotary Club and the AU Tip-Off Club. He served on the board of directors for Tigers Unlimited and the AU Alumni Association. He volunteered his time on the Tiger Trail Committee and the Auburn College of Sciences and Mathematics Advisory Board. Jim has been the recipient of the Auburn Rotary Club Good

Citizenship Award, the AU Athletic Director’s Club Award, and the 2022 J.W. Darden Foundation Legacy Award for improving the lives of the citizens of Lee County.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents and by his wife Carolyn Gomillion Mathews. He is survived by his daughters, Sharry Mathews and Susan Lindblom (Tim), and grandchildren Ethan Lindblom and Julia Abbasi.

A Service of Celebration and Remembrance for family and friends will be held at Auburn United Methodist Church at 2:00 pm Friday, October 20, with senior pastor Dr. Cory Smith officiating.

The family requests that any memorial gifts be made to Mercy Medical Ministry and Clinic  online at www.MercyMedicalAuburn.org or by mail to Mercy Medical Ministry, 1702 Catherine Ct., Ste 1A, Auburn, AL 36830.