Nilza de Mattos Reynolds
Nilza de Mattos Reynolds, 77, died on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014, at home. She was the widow of Jasper A. Reynolds, Jr.
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, she was the oldest surviving of nine children born to the late Jose Bernardo de Mattos, a businessman and public official. Her mother, Maria Vidal de Mattos, died when she was a child.
Mrs. Reynolds graduated in 1957 from the American Institute of Lins and in 1961 from the University of São Paulo, where she studied foreign languages.
As a young schoolteacher with a spirit of adventure, she came to this country in 1966 to teach in the Peace Corps, settling in her husband’s hometown of Chattanooga after their marriage in 1969. While raising a family she was active in education, serving as a substitute teacher and arts aide in the City schools, teaching Portuguese for the Adult Education Council, and co-organizing UTC’s citywide 1979 Brazilian International Festival. After earning a computer science degree from Chattanooga State Technical Community College in 1986, she served a number of small engineering firms.
Following her husband’s death in 2000, she dedicated herself to serving “my kids” in the remote rural town of Cristalândia, Brazil. She spent weeks at a time living among the people—tutoring orphans, organizing after-school programs and coaching overwhelmed educators.
For more than 40 years, Mrs. Reynolds was a communicant of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where she helped to maintain the archive room named for her husband.
Survivors include two sons and a daughter-in-law, Jasper III, Catherine and Joseph; and two grandchildren, William and Elizabeth, all of Chattanooga. She is also survived by a sister, Nadir de Matos; brother, Jose Bernardo de Mattos, Jr.; and stepmother, Antonia de Mattos, all of São Paulo, Brazil.
Services will be Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 1:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Clergy presiding will be The Reverend Suzanne Smitherman, The Reverend Donald Fishburne and The Reverend Andy Olivo. Burial will follow in Chattanooga National Cemetery.
Visitations will be on Monday, Feb. 10, from 6-8 p.m. at Wann Funeral Home; and Tuesday, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at the church.
Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of choice.
Arrangements are by Wann Funeral Home & Cremation Center, at the foot of historic Lookout Mountain, St. Elmo, 423 821-7551
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