Dennis Matula

Dennis Matula died in Overland Park, KS on Oct 13, 2022 at age 70. He will rest at Mount Olivet with his mother, Millie, and his brother, Tommy. Dennis appreciated those friends and family who extended their thoughts and hearts during his illness. We all appreciated Dennis's caregivers at KU Hospital, Brookdale Overland Park, and HCA Midwest Hospice. We are not a religious family but you don't have to be to know that they were doing god's work.

Dennis's life shows how it is never too late to try and build new castles–or even a first one. For the majority of his life – well into his adulthood – he made many bad decisions, did some regretful things, and was "not living right" (his words). He was transparent and graphic about that reality. But he overcame addiction, got (and stayed) sober, worked hard, started "living right," and somewhere along the way, gained a lot of perspective and wisdom about what is important in life. He wrote to family about "love and kindness" and encouraged people to read Don Miguel's books The Four Agreements and The Mastery of Love and shared how forgiveness changed his world for the better. It is readily apparent from hearing from his friends that he positively affected many people with his goodness.

He liked to play cards, was known at times to wear a sweet beret and Ray Bands, and was likely watching "the game" if one was on TV. He enjoyed seeing Carson and Samatha's sporting events from afar via livestreams and he and Marc had a lot of things in common to compare notes on regarding politics, etc.

Never married and without children, he lived a modest life with somewhat modest means. But with his mortality before him, he made clear he wanted to give in certain ways. Among them . . . He was a dog lover, and earmarked something to be donated to a dog rescue organization. He was a recovering addict, and will be giving to support addiction recovery. He was an uncle, and wanted to contribute something to the education of his nephews and niece because "they will have their education as long as they live" and so he could always be a little "a part of their lives in that way." And . . . there might also be some small bets made in his name for the Mariners, Seahawks, Royals, or Chiefs to "win it all."

For most of his life no one would have wagered that Dennis would have been able to do a lot of what I mention here. And his late start on "good living" coupled with his untimely illness limited the circles of his life. But in the end, he was able to maximize his legacy and memory to those who cared about him. Don't we all hope to be so lucky?

Dennis is survived by: his uncle and aunt (Gene and JoAnne Hosek); his brother Dan (Karen) Matula; his nephews Michael (Jodi) Matula and Matthew (Diana) Matula; and grand niece and nephews (Samantha, Marc, and Carson Matula).