Dr. Hollie Matthews

Hollie Matthews, MD, 49, tragically passed in a car accident on September 29, 2026, while visiting family in Georgia. Passing with her in the accident are her nephew Timothy Roundtree, his spouse Kelsey, and their son Orion (12). Those surviving the accident were Tim and Kelsey’s three remaining children, Draco (14), Lyra (11), and Leo (8). 

Hollie was born on Dec. 17, 1976, in Longview, Washington, and was welcomed by her two older sisters Valerie (Torres) and Darcie Matthews. Hollie loved music and at 3 years old sang perfectly “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” in the Christmas program. At 4 years old she knew she wanted to become a doctor and even had her own stethoscope. When she was in the fifth grade, she and her family moved to Winlock, Washington. 

During her childhood, Hollie and her sisters would each spend a week with Grandma Matthews and went to many family reunions during this time. She became an avid fisher and would beat the neighborhood boys in a fishing competition every time. During her life, she continued taking yearly salmon fishing trips to Westport, Washington. 

Hollie graduated from Winlock High School in 1995 and continued her education in Pre-Med at Saint Martin’s University, class of 1999. She received her Doctor of Medicine at the University of Washington, class of 2004. After graduating, she did a surgical rotation in Ohio before she focused on family medicine. 

Dr. Matthews returned to Washington and continued residency at MultiCare Tacoma Family Medicine from 2004 to 2008. After this time, she moved to eastern Washington for the drier climate. She continued her work in family medicine with Confluence Health from 2008 until 2014 and then transitioned to Samaritan Healthcare from 2014 to 2015. After this short time, she returned to western Washington in 2015 to assist in caring for her mother. During that time, she worked at the University of Washington from 2015 until 2017. 

After her mother’s passing, she returned to eastern Washington and settled in Moses Lake. Dr. Matthews resumed employment with Samaritan Healthcare in 2017 until Oct 2020. She transitioned to Columbia Basin Family Medicine in Ephrata, Washington in November 2020 and remained there until October 2024. During this time, several patients traveled the extra distance to continue care with her. 

Not long after transitioning to CBH Family Medicine, she sold her residence in Moses Lake, and moved to a new residence in Ephrata. This allowed her to develop closer ties to the local community as well as having an easier commute. She suffered from allergies and because of that, she decided she was going to build a dry riverbed flower garden with plenty of desert flowers and a succulent garden at her new residence. Her favorite was hen and chicks succulents. 

After that time, Hollie had given up on dating and prayed, “God, if you want me to have someone in my life, he will have to show up at my doorstep.” Not long after, Hollie’s friend brought her cousin Shawn to help with yard work. The two of them had an instant connection and they became inseparable. They enjoyed nightly chess games as they were both very competitive. 

Hollie had many hobbies. She enjoyed crocheting, knitting, quilting, embroidering, and sewing. All of these were learned during those summer visits with Grandma Matthews years ago. She continued these hobbies with her own flair, including making her own Halloween costumes, and adding new attachments to her Ugly Christmas Sweater every year. She also loved spending time outdoors and continued fishing and kayaking. She developed a passion for gardening, and enjoyed sharing her proud harvest and the canning she learned to do as well. 

In late 2024, Hollie took time off work for personal reasons. When she tried to return to family practice, she found it difficult to balance between taking magnificent care of her patients and herself. During this time, she knew that she wanted to continue caring for all of those she could, and decided to transition into private practice. Hollie and Shawn had discussed opening her own medical spa and with Shawn’s encouragement and support, she was able to make that dream a reality. By March 2025, Eudaimonia Medical Spa opened its doors. In February 2026, the spa moved to a larger space that offered more room and care for her patients. 

Hollie’s true legacy continues with her love of care and service. She always had words of encouragement whether you were a patient or a friend. She had a big heart and shared that heart with everyone around her. Although she has passed on, she has had a profound and lasting affect on the world around her and she will be greatly missed. 

Hollie leaves behind her significant other Shawn Ortega, her dogs Sasha and Zeus, her sisters Valerie (Jason) Torres and Darcie Matthews, and many other relatives and a community that loved her. Services are to be announced at a later date.