Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WARSAW – Agnes Felts Matheis, LCDR USN (Ret.), passed away peacefully in her sleep in Warsaw, Virginia, on Oct. 3, 2023. She was born Agnes Wesley Felts on Jan. 26, 1926, in her family home near Capron, Virginia to Robert Lee and Laura Gillette Felts. She graduated from Courtland High School and attended college for nursing before entering the U.S. Navy in 1945 as a Commissioned Nursing Officer. She served as a nurse and supervisor primarily in the Pacific Theater through the Korean and Vietnam Wars

, with assignments in Pearl Harbor, occupied Japan, Guam and San Diego. She completed her career at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in 1970, retiring as a Lieutenant Commander.

Agnes married Harold Joseph Matheis of Rochester, New York in 1957.  They spent their post-naval career lives together in Portsmouth, Virginia. Agnes was a hard worker and a fighter until the end of her life. She enjoyed traveling and circumnavigated the globe at least once in her lifetime. She also cherished family and opportunities to gather with loved ones.

Agnes was preceded in death by her husband, Harold; her two sisters, Edna F. Jones of Smithfield and Virginia F. Brown of Mt. Holly, Virginia; two nephews, Kippe G. Jones of Smithfield and James D. Brown III of Mt. Holly.  She is survived by two nephews, Larry E. Jones of Chicago, Illinois and Cary R. Brown of Tampa, Florida and countless cousins.

Agnes was laid to rest next to her beloved husband in Hampton National Cemetery in Hampton, Virginia on Tuesday, Oct. 10.  Welch Funeral Home in Warsaw, Virginia handled pre-funeral arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Foundation or the Southampton County Virginia Historical Society with appreciation.