I was very sorry to hear of Matt's passing.  I'll miss him in our team meetings, we had a similar sense of humor and could (jokingly) give each other a hard time which was always fun.  Every time I 'sudo' when I'm not supposed to, I'll know he's looking over my shoulder in his half-joking disappointment and I'll hear him saying "why are you suoding everything?". 

With every passing of someone I know it's always a harsh reminder of the impermanence of our time here, and a reminder to continue to do my best to honor those who are now gone.

To Matt's family, I'm so sorry you've lost someone so dear to you. I won't forget Matt, and I'll keep you in my heart and thoughts during this trying time for you all.

All my best,

Ryan

Matt was one of my best friends and my favorite co-worker. I was so lucky to have worked with him at McDATA, ColdSpark and ICAT (twice!) He was probably the smartest person I know - able to solve tough problems and make it look easy, like an IT version of Winston Wolf in Pulp Fiction. Unlike The Wolf, though, Matt had unlimited patience and no ego. I felt a little smarter each time I talked to him.

Matt was unflappable and I never saw him angry or overly excited. In a bad situation, the biggest reaction you might get was a “This sucks canal water”. And then he’d power through it.

We both learned our pool skills from the cartoon Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land. It stuck much better with him than me and he always beat me and my husband when we played. He called us the worst pool players who own a pool table. And he was right. We commandeered the TV in a dive bar one night for everyone to watch Donald Duck and learn. It wasn’t well-received at first, but the other patrons eventually got on board. And then Matt beat everyone.

I’ll also remember Matt as the King of Karaoke. He had a great voice and hearing him belt out Roxanne by the Police always made me happy.

Other things that will always remind me of Matt are: The Princess Bride (the book and the movie), The Commitments, drum lines, Renaissance fairs, the usefulness of the Home and End keys, pho, Cheez-Its, reliable soup (aka Jason's Deli), and hash browns.

Although he was one of my favorite drinking buddies, I’m so, so proud of the work Matt did to get and stay sober. Our beer cooler will always have root beer or Izze sodas in his honor.

I miss you, my friend. This sucks canal water.

I am shocked and sad to hear of Matt's passing. He was far too young, especially in my memory of him (years ago we worked at the same company). I remember him as goofy and kind.

A random memory: there was a blood drive at work, and I attempted to donate but my blood pressure was too low. He jokingly told me that the build was broken to try to get my blood pressure up :-)

Sending my love to everyone affected, especially his kids: I am so sorry you lost your dear father. You guys look so happy together in the pictures above. I'm sure you were the lights of his life.