Margaret Hawkins Matens

Margaret Hawkins Matens, of Monteagle, Tennessee, died peacefully surrounded by her adoring family and friends on November 1, 2026, at age 76.

A wildlife rehabilitator, environmental educator, illustrator, and author, Margaret spent her life helping others discover and care for the natural world. It is simply impossible to name the thousands of lives she touched in her all too brief life.

Margaret was born in Baton Rouge on September 13, 1950. Her childhood was filled with love, adventure, and animals ranging from alligators to monkeys. She graduated from Lee High School in 1968 and received a degree in English Education from Louisiana State University. She taught English at Episcopal High School, where she met her lifelong love, Jack. She was a brilliant and loved educator in Baton Rouge, Bremerhaven, Germany, Chattanooga, and lastly St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School, where she served as public relations director for 17 years until her retirement in 2010.

Her passion for bringing the wonders of nature to young and old alike found a home at Camp Nakanawa in Crossville, Tennessee. For 58 years, she nurtured its beloved nature program, which she founded and whose Nature Hut was named in her honor, introducing generations of campers to picking blackberries, identifying wildflowers, and holding their first snake. She authored Nakanawa: The First Fifty Years and wrote and illustrated many other works, ranging from children’s stories to songbooks and histories.

A certified wildlife rehabilitator and environmental educator for more than 30 years, she brought native wildlife into classrooms, camps, and festivals, helping children replace fear with understanding. She so loved her family’s English Springer Spaniels, yet her unbridled enthusiasm for wildlife and all things in nature became her most important calling. Whether you were on a hike, or a participant in one of the hundreds of presentations she led, there was not one person that left without a sense of awe and enhanced love of Mother Nature.

Margaret served on the board of Friends of South Cumberland State Park, supported its Every Child in the Park program, founded Trails & Trilliums, and taught for the Tennessee Naturalist Program. Margaret received many honors and awards throughout her life. Two of her most prized were the Tennessee State Naturalist of the Year recognition and the 2019 Harry C. Yeatman Environmental Education Award, presented for her enthusiastic devotion of time, energy, and resources to teaching children and adults about the natural wonders of the region.

Personally, the lights of her life were her family. The daughter of the late Murray Free Hawkins and Julia Welles Hawkins, Margaret leaves her husband of 50 years, Jack Matens; daughters Morgan Matens and her partner, Greg Hall, and Murray Matens Kimball and her husband, Bryan Kimball; her cherished grandsons Ender and Lewin Kimball; her sister Julia Battle; and her brothers Warren and Lad Hawkins.

A visitation for Margaret Matens’ family will be held on Friday, December 4, 2026, from noon to 3 p.m. in McCrory Hall on the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School campus.

In lieu of flowers, put your toes in the grass, rescue a spider trapped inside, show kindness to an animal, or donate in her name to an organization in your community that helps children connect with nature like Friends of South Cumberland State Park. Margaret would simply wish to be remembered as you walk through the forest, feel a cool breeze on your face, and gaze in awe of all that nature has provided.

Rogers Funeral Home, 400 Laurel Avenue, South Pittsburg, TN 37380. 423-837-7176