Matthew "Matt" A. Bonavito

Weatherhead Young Funeral Home

885 Mantoloking Road Brick, NJ 08723

 

Matthew A. Bonavito of Brick, NJ, unexpectedly passed away at Monmouth Medical Center on May 15, 2022.  Matt graduated from Brick High School in 1984 and Salem College in 1988.  Matt had an adventurous childhood that consisted of playing with his seven siblings and many friends, exploring the Jersey Pine Barons, skating on the frozen lakes, or surfing at Brick Beach.  Always mechanically inclined, Matt enjoyed tinkering.  He could take anything apart and quickly put it back together.  He was able to apply his mechanical skills at the Molly Pitcher Inn and Oyster Point Hotel, where he worked as a technician maintaining the company’s buildings and equipment.  Matt wrestled and played football at Brick High School.  He is one of the few Brick football players to wear three state championship rings.  Often, he would tease his three brothers and nephews with his multiple rings.  Rarely seen without a smile, people were naturally drawn to him.  He enjoyed time with his friends and family, surfing, exercising, fishing, or skateboarding. 

Wherever Matt went, he would spread love and kindness, like the time he met an eight-year-old boy named Jamie.  Matt took Jamie under his wing, became a father figure, and helped change his life trajectory.

He is preceded in death by his father, Andrew Bonavito.

He is survived by his mother, Jane Bonavito of Brick, NJ, his brother Robert and his wife Colleen of Tewksbury, NJ, sisters Karen Gromlich and her husband Lawrence of St. Augustine, FL, Lynn Barza of Pacific Palisades, CA, Ida Bonavito-Baduini and her husband Peter Fritz of Sewell, NJ, and Annette Montero and her husband Kali of Boca Raton, FL, brothers James Bonavito of Beaufort, NC and Brick Bonavito of Brick, NJ. Matt is also survived by his nephews Shane Baduini, Nicholas, and Christopher Bonavito and his nieces Alyssa Bonavito and Kiana Montero.

A wake for Matt will be held on May 19, 2022, from 4 pm to 8 pm at Weatherhead Young Funeral Home, 885 Mantoloking Road Brick, NJ 08723.  A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, 11 am at Church of the Visitation, Brick, cremation will be private.