A few Decembers ago, Matt invited all his Markham neighbourhood & church friends to the Aga Khan Museum without telling me, and then inviting me to meet him there on the day of.  Once there he told me that he had invited a few friends. So I waited in the museum shop and bought him some beautiful rug coasters as gift to him for our meeting. A short while later, all his 5 friends from Markham and His Agincourt Church came. We walked through the permanent collection in the museum. I was completely  unprepared, and so there was no official tour guide available despite my ask. So Matt asked me to give an unofficial tour. Which I couldn't do justice to at the time as I too had little knowledge myself on each of the artifacts. But I did my best with whatever little I knew about my fascination with Ibn Sina’s  original work! . At the end of the walk through the permanent collection, Matt gathered all his friends in a circle in front of the museums reception desk, and asked me if it’s okay with me, if he share his coasters gift from me to him  with all his friends. And I said sure, it was his , and he could do whatever he wanted! 

So he gleefully opened the coasters package and gave everyone each one coaster including one for me. I was so surprised and truly amazed to receive his present I had gifted him, that he generously chose to gift it back to all his friends. He was an extremely thoughtful, considerate and kind guy. He used his charming “looks-to-kill “ in such a positive way, to light the whole old with the light that was in him. I almost felt that Matt used his light within him to light the candles 🕯️ of each of his friends. I feel Matt was a Saint of some kind. 

At his post funeral gsthering in his old backyard, his best friend Zenon and I reminisced and remembered fondly that day we all met at the Aga Khan Museum and when Matt shared with each of us his present. We each still have that present from him and what a beautiful gift it was from him to us his best friends and what a beautiful memory it is now, for each of us! 

 Matt, you were a sparkling diamond 💎 and a bright glowing light in this dark world.

We all really loved 🥰 you Matt and we miss your energy, your humour, your love ❤️ and your thoughtfulness, inclusivity and kindness so much. We will miss you forever ♾️. 

You were one of a kind! Our Hero. 

I met Matt on a plane at Heathrow airport in 2007.  We were preparing for takeoff, and our seats were beside one another. I was accidentally in his seat instead of mine - and I'd already started to get comfy there and wasn't very enthusiastic about moving. Most people would be annoyed by that, but Matt wasn't most people. He sat down beside me and started talking, and we discovered we were both returning home after working in East Africa (he'd been in Zanzibar, I'd been in Kenya).  In the space and time between London and Toronto, we quickly started to become friends. By the time we landed, we'd exchanged contacts and had already planned adventures together. After that, we were regularly reminiscing about our travels, going out for Ethiopian food, cooking with friends and family, and dancing in odd and sometimes inadvisable places. As the years passed, our friendship spanned cities and continents, and I got to spend time with the wonderful Vero and Adeline (I haven't met Flora yet). Over the last year and a half, I got extremely ill and this prevented me from visiting Matt and his family in Montreal - I'd been looking forward to going and seeing them again for a long time. I was too sick to see him the last time he came to Toronto, but true to form, he offered to come bring me candy anyway. Our last conversation just a couple weeks before his death was a perfect example of who he was: a combination of heartfelt wishes for my health, updates on his beautiful family, good humour, and an impassioned political rant about climate refugees and global inequality. 

Matt's exuberant, passionate and curious spirit was an inspiration and a light to everyone and everything he touched. I send my deepest condolences to Vero and the girls, to his parents, his family, and all the colleagues and friends who are also grieving his loss. I find myself continuing my last conversation with him in my head regularly, often on walks in the forest. I feel him all around, and I know his presence and the impact of his life and legacy will always be felt by all who knew him.

I met Matt and Véro because our kids attended the same daycare. We used to hang out after we picked up our kids at the end of the day - sometimes we would hang out on the street while the kids ran around or other times, I would go over to their house. I always liked our conversations- Matt was always genuinely interested in other people’s ideas, lives, etc. He was very caring and generous. I remember when he biked all the way to my house to deliver a trampoline for my son - my son still uses it to this day! When there was a war/genocide in Tigray, Ethiopia, he was one of the only people who would always ask me how things were - he followed up and donated to an organization that provides medical support. He did many things that were so meaningful and could really brighten someone’s day! 

Matt was truly a unique person who had so much to offer his community and the world.  Just reading all the comments here show the impact he made and how amazing and inspirational he was. He will be remembered.