Matt graduated from Iowa State in the Spring of 2004. He had completed three majors: History, Philosophy, and Classical studies. At the time of his death, he was pursuing a PhD in History, with an emphasis on Medieval Intellectual History, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Matt was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois. Our family lived in the Chicago area until May of 1990 when we moved to Fargo. Matt attended St. Mary of Czestochowa grade school in Cicero, IL from K through 2nd grade. In Fargo, Matt attended Carl Ben Eielson Elementary School, Agassiz Middle School, Discovery Junior High, and Fargo South High School. From the time he was very small, Matt had 3 great loves: books, sports, and history.
Anyone who knew Matt is probably familiar with this expression or one similar to it. Matt was incredibly easy to get along with but could be just a little bit sarcastic from time to time. One of our family sayings is "How would Matt do this?" He was the champion of finding the simplest, most effortless way to accomplish any task. We miss Matt immensely, but our memories of him will remain forever.
Matt spent his early years in Chicago. His best friend was his brother Dan, who was a year older. They spent lots of time together and never seemed to lack for something to do. They especially enjoyed swimming and playing out in the back yard. If there was nothing to do outside, there were always books to read. Matt could never get enough of history, biographies, and historical fiction.
Matt's sports loyalties were generally not local. The only exception was the North Dakota State University (Bison) football team. This led him to become a Buffalo Bills fan when the Bills drafted Phil Hansen in 1991.
Matt's favorite baseball team was the Toronto Blue Jays. Matt collected baseball cards all through his junior high school years. As recently as the summer before he died, he was involved in two fantasy baseball leagues.
Since early childhood, Matt had a fascination with fantastic creatures. "Jaws", "Tremors" and "Hercules" were at the top of his video list. Later, he read books about the Loch Ness Monster and "Champ", the creature who reportedly resides in Lake Champlain. Even into adulthood, Matt was always one of the first to see any new creature movie.
While Matt and Dan had different interests, they shared some of the same friends. Their two closest friends were Travis (far left) and Jason (next to Matt). When the four of them were together you never knew where the conversation would begin or where it would end up. They have gone their separate ways in recent years (a PhD and teaching for Travis, the Navy for Jason, and writing and a family for Dan), but they continue to keep in touch with each other.