Matthew D. Holbert

Sept. 17, 1981 - Feb. 15, 2007

Matthew David Holbert was born Sept. 17, 1981, in Redding, Calif. He died Thursday, Feb. 15, in Corvallis.

He spent most of his childhood in Grants Pass and Roseburg. Life-threatening birth defects had been corrected through multiple surgeries during infancy. During one of those surgeries he received a blood transfusion contaminated with the human immunodeficiency virus (unknown then as the cause of AIDS). Matthew's life was remarkable in that he survived that infection. His death was remarkable in its tragic irony.

Matthew was a happy child, but an increasingly unhappy teenager and young adult. He suffered from mental illnesses that could not be touched by love, counseling or medication. In spite of his difficulties, he found comfort in nature and liked photographing it. He could be articulate and witty and liked to talk politics and religion. Matthew believed that Jesus had saved him and would one day deliver him from a life he often found unbearable.

His mother, Kathy; father, Michael; sister, Emelie; grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and all those who love him, grieve over his tragic, untimely death. Even so, we rejoice in the knowledge that, by the grace of God, he has joined his Savior in Heaven.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at Westside Community Church, 4000 S.W. Western Blvd., Corvallis. Anyone wising to pay respects to the family or to Matthew's memory is invited.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, in care of DeMoss-Durdan Funeral Home.