Sonny was born November 9, 1964, in Columbus, MS to H. Durward Mathews, Jr. and Barbara Hendrix Mathews. He graduated from Heard Co. High School in Franklin, GA in 1982, and sent on to attend Mississippi State University, where he earned a BS in Business Administration, and MBA in Banking and Finance, an MA in History, and a M.Ed. in Secondary Education. Sonny earned 30 hours towards a PhD in American History, specializing in Women’s History. While at MSU, he met Tanya Gosa in 1997 and was married to her on Nov. 8, 2000, in Chattanooga, TN.
Sonny was preceded in death by his father, and grandparents, Talmadge and Iva Barnhill Hendrix, and Jessie Nolte Mathews. He is survived by his wife, Tanya,; his mother, Barbara, and sister, Hope, of Louisville; three step-daughters, Jennifer McGee Paden of Tupelo, Erica Shae Monroy of Florida, and Amelia Paulet Rader of Ohio; eleven step-grandchildren, Aspen Wadsworth, Triston Lady, Dalton Paden, Abysia Monroy, Kiara, Drake, Andrew, and Kaylie Carrell, and Layla, Zoe, and Aiden Rader. He also leaves several aunts, uncles, and cousins, plus numerous friends.
Memorials may be made to the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, fara@CureFA.org , or the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. of Mississippi, www.mda.org/disease/friedreichs-ataxia.
