Leading health advocate, Dr. Leslie Ray Matthews, dies at height of his career

The Jackson Advocate management and staff extend sincere  sympathies to the family of Dr. Leslie Ray Matthews, who succumbed August 27, 2025. He was 62. The entire Matthews family has been a  staple in the South, particularly in the Indianola, MS community, for generations.  

Known as one of the top vitamin D experts in the world, Dr. Matthews was affiliated with several medical institutions including Morehouse School of Medicine and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry, cum laude, at the University of Mississippi in 1985, followed by an MD in 1989, surgical residency training at Morehouse School of Medicine, and a two-year surgical critical care fellowship at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, MN. Prior to joining the Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Matthews served as a faculty member at the Mayo Clinic, and soon thereafter, as a senior associate consultant in the department of trauma, critical care, and general surgery. 

His list of credits and awards are quite extensive. In 2017 Matthews was presented with the “Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award” and in 2018 Matthews was named among elite researchers and scientists invited to join “The Royal Society of Medicine” as an Overseas Fellow. 

Details of a memorial service to honor his life are incomplete at this time, but will be posted on the Jackson Advocate website when made available.