Matthew Palmer

1987 - 2024

Matthew Lee Palmer

4/4/87 – 10/21/24

- Matthew unexpectedly left us for Heaven on the afternoon of October 21, 2024 (his Grandpa George's birthday). He was born April 4, 1987 (his grandma Lila's birthday), to Matilda Jones and Jeff Palmer.

All who knew Matthew well, would describe him as loving, caring, generous, and kind-hearted. He was always mindful of the elderly and extremely good to them, especially his Baba Grandma (Mary), and his Grandma Lila. Matt was truly a sweet boy.

Without question, Matt's greatest joy in life was being a father to Paris and Ryder. They were his everything. Paris worshipped her daddy. She wanted to be wherever he was. She was happiest when with him. She missed him when he was away and asked about him until he returned. Ryder wanted to be wherever his dad and sister were. Matt was Ryder's hero. No boy ever appreciated more than Ryder, his dad's love, attention, and support. These children are his greatest gift to this world and to his family. Their separation is the most tragic element of Matt's death.

As a child, like his own kids, Matt always wanted to be with his dad. He loved their time together in the corrals and sorting pens of his dad's cattle business. Matthew was a cowboy, almost before he could talk. Riding horses as a boy and being around the cows made for some of his happiest times. In times of trouble, it was his mother to whom he instinctively turned as his safe place.

As he approached school age, Matt followed in the footsteps of his older brothers in sports. Cowboy hats and chaps were traded in for baseball caps and gloves. By playing sports himself as a boy, supporting his brothers and nephews at their games, coaching Ryder, and following his favorite professional teams, sports were woven into the fabric of his life.

Matthew attended East Midvale Elementary School, Midvale Middle School, and Hillcrest High School. In the years following his graduation, he lived and worked for a time in Alaska and California, with his dad's close friends and partners, who were his mentors. He enjoyed his travels and the people he met on those adventures.

The most significant thing Matthew Palmer did, outside of his role as a father, was to volunteer to be an organ donor. Last Friday, the lives of four transplant recipients were extended and enriched by Matt's magnanimous gift. In these individuals, his love and his goodness lives on. The last few minutes that his family spent with him in this world, as they escorted him on his way to the operating room, were every bit as sacred as the moment of his birth. These two events are the parentheses around the context of Matthew's life. In birth, a gift to his family, in death, a gift to others.

Matthew is preceded in death, by his grandparents, George and Mary Jones, Val Palmer, Lila and Clark Frandsen, his aunts Tony Smith and Valerie Bills, Paris and Ryder's mother, Lundon Thomas, and his cousin, Kendall Thomas.

He is survived by his children, Ryder (12) and Paris (8), his parents, his sister Wesley, his brothers Spanky (Jessica), JD (Sabrina) and Riley (Madeline), and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. He leaves behind countless friends and will be missed by everyone, most of all for his gentleness.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on October 31, 2024, at 12:30 pm at St. Ann Catholic Church, 450 E. 2100 S., Salt Lake City.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, November 1, 2024, at the Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Home at 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway (10600 S.). After the service, Matthew will be laid to rest next to his Grandpa Val, in the South Jordan City Cemetery, 10630 S. 1055 W. South Jordan. Online condolences may be shared at www.jenkins-soffe.com.

Rest high on the mountain, Matthew. You have been the gift of a lifetime to each of us. We love you, we miss you and we honor you… until we meet again.