Tuesday, October 28, 2014
My condolences to the family.
I was privileged to have Matty in three of the Communication Studies classes that I taught at the U of W. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was not only a favourite student of mine, but that he was also a favourite of the other students. A highlight, of course, was the time he wore his Spiderman costume for his in-class presentation (his presentation did not concern Spiderman, and I do not believe that it was Halloween). He was smart, and funny, and quick-witted. I was lucky, in a sense, to run in to him one last time at the airport while we were both waiting to get on a plane to Vancouver. We had never, in four years, discussed his health or his condition, but he let me know that it had been a struggle lately. The trip, which I believe was his last to Vancouver as mentioned in his obituary, was in part to go sailing with his family. He had always wanted to go sailing.
Matty lived as hard as he could. I am glad to have learned from him.
