Matthew Todd Pagels, a kind, loving, gentle Christian man who spent his life caring for others, died May 5, 2017, in Hampton, VA. Originally from Bayport, NY, Matthew had lived in Hampton since 1971, when he moved there after graduating from William & Mary that same year. As a member of the Northampton Presbyterian Church for 40 years, more than half of which he served as an elder, he was active in Christian education, worship, and outreach committees.

Those left to cherish his memory include not only his beloved wife of 45 years, Betty Ann Pagels, but also their three daughters and their families: Kimberly Pagels-McKnight and her husband, Mark McKnight, of Newport News, Amanda Blalock and her husband, Christopher Blalock, of Hampton, and Christy Pagels and her husband, Philip Varner, of Charlottesville. He was a doting "Papou" of his grandchildren, Gemma, Lee, Hazel, Maddux, and Fraser. He is also survived by a host of family and friends whom he loved and served, especially his siblings, Tom Pagels of Pittsgrove, NJ, Denyse Brennan of Atlanta, GA, and Steven Pagels of Bar Harbor, ME, and his many nieces and nephews.

Matt loved playing with his family at the beach, where twenty-plus years ago he fulfilled a dream by buying and renovating a house in Duck, NC. You could always find him in the water boogie boarding, body surfing, or kayaking. He adored teaching his grandchildren to love the water, also.

Always active, he was known to many in town as "that runner" along Big Bethel Road. It's no surprise, then, that his long and successful career brought his hobby together with his passion for helping others: He was a kinesiotherapist at the Hampton VA Hospital for more than 30 years, and he later owned Pagels Drivers Rehab Services, which helped people who need adaptive equipment learn to drive anew and provided driver's evaluations for seniors.

His humble spirit, wisdom, humor—and of course his blueberry pancakes—will be missed by all who knew him.

The family will receive friends from 3 – 5 PM Sunday, May 7, 2017 at R. Hayden Smith Funeral Home, downtown Hampton. A funeral service will be conducted at 2:00 PM, Monday, May 8 at Northampton Presbyterian Church, 1217 Todds Lane, Hampton, VA, interment will follow in Hampton Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Special Olympics and the handicap accessibility project at Northampton Presbyterian Church.