Grady Matthews, 75: 'He wasn't fancy, but he was solid'

There wasn't anybody who could give a man a flat-top haircut like Grady Matthews. The cut was a precision work of art. His brother and shop co-owner was possibly the only one who could come close, said his son Jeff Matthews.

"One of my brothers still wears one right now," said Mr. Matthews, who lives in Brooks. "It is going to be hard to find another barber. Really hard."

Grady Matthews, and his younger brother Gerald Matthews, owned Plaza Barber Shop in Riverdale for more than 45 years. His generations of customers became family, and he dispensed advice and love to them like he did his own.

"Everyone was comfortable with him," said his daughter, Samantha Barnett of Senoia. "People knew they could come and talk to him about anything. It wasn't always about a haircut."

Wayne Grady Matthews, of Fayetteville, died Friday from complications of cancer. He was 75. A funeral is planned for noon Monday at Mowell Funeral Home, Fayetteville, which is also in charge of arrangements. Burial will follow at Woodbury Cemetery, Woodbury.

Born in Gardner, Fla., Mr. Matthews graduated from high school in 1954 and went to North Georgia Military College. But mid way through his college experience, he left and enrolled in barber college so he could pursue his true passion.

"It was a profession that chose him," his son said. "He started cutting his best friend's hair in high school and he was good at it."

Mr. Matthews' barber career started in the '50s in Atlanta, his family said. In 1963 he and his brother decided to open their own barber shop in Riverdale, where they were one of the city's first businesses. The two worked together until the shop closed in 2008, but Mr. Matthews couldn't give up his craft that easily. He did house calls, and eventually got himself a chair in another shop not far from home and then there was always the barber chair in the basement of the home he shared with his wife, because he was still the Matthew's family barber.

For more than 50 years Mr. Matthews cut hair. He even worked through a cancer diagnosis, remission and the disease's return.

"He cut hair until he couldn't stand up," his son said. "He'd lean on the chair for support, and finally where there was no way he could drive anymore, he had to give it up."

Jeff Matthews said his father's strength and courage not only helped him through a career and raising a family, but those qualities helped him fight a vicious disease.

"Dad was like an old oak tree," Mr. Matthews said. "He wasn't fancy, but he was solid."