Ethel Wallace Matthews Hill

It was a bright, sunny, and beautiful day when GOD came and picked a flower to add to his Heavenly Garden.   On Friday, October 18, 2024, Ethel Wallace Matthews Hill took her last breath after a courageous fight with many ailments and illnesses.  Mrs. Hill died peacefully in her sleep with her family members holding her hands.  Ethel “Baby Rae” as she was so affectionally called, was born on February 13, 1937, to the late Marie and James Wallace and Jimmy Robinson.

“Baby Rae” attended Bruton Heights School in Williamsburg and graduated from James Weldon Johnson High School in Yorktown.  She continued her education at the former Thomas Nelson Community College, graduating with an associate’s degree in nursing.  She dedicated twenty-eight years of her life to being an LPN at Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, retiring in 1993.

“Baby Rae” married her High School sweetheart, Henry Matthews in 1956.  To this union, they were blessed with two sons, Paul and Henry Matthews Jr., and one daughter, Bettye.

In 1977, Ethel married the “Love of her Life,” Leroy “Chubby” Hill, and was blessed with eight “bonus” children – Ronald, Gail, Eloise, Aaron, Andy, William “Benny,” Maude “Amie,” and Alma “Teresa.”

“Baby Rae” was very active in her church, first serving as the secretary for Sunday School, then as a teacher, and finally as the Superintendent. She also sang in the Senior Choir on second Sundays and was an usher. “Baby Rae” was a faithful member of Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church until her demise.

She was predeceased by her sons, Paul and Henry Jr., father of her children Henry Matthews Sr., and husband Leroy “Chubby” Hill.  Mrs. Hill is survived by her dedicated daughter, who was there to see her “through it all”, Bettye Matthews Walker; son William “Benny” Hill (Jeannie); daughter Maud “Amie” Curley; grandchildren, Monique Wynne (Steven), Starr Person (Antoine), Crystal “Vesper” Hill, Keisha Hill, Marvin Walker II, Mario Curley, Dominic Curley, and William Hill Jr.; six great-grandchildren; a special friend Lawrence Rowe; her Thursday night “phone call friend” Maud Barlow; and many other relatives, friends, and her Church family.

To know her was to LOVE her.  Baby Rae has left a smile on many faces and will be sadly missed.

The family will be receiving friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 25, 2024, with a wake beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Whiting’s Funeral Home.  “Baby Rae’s” Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 26, 2024, at Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, 233 Barlow Road, Williamsburg.

Professional services entrusted to the staff of Whiting's Funeral Home, 7005 Pocahontas Trail, Williamsburg, Virginia 23185. 757-229-3011 whitingsfuneralhome.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ethel Wallace Matthews Hill, please visit our floral store.