Matthew Flowers

The eyes, the dimpled smile, the grip of his left hand, his love of crackers and, of course, chocolate ice cream – they were Matthew Flowers' trademarks and unforgettable. For whatever reason, he did not often smile, but when he did, his eyes sparkled and his look was endearing.
Matthew, 50, autistic, non-verbal and epileptic, died April 29 in the group home where he had lived since March 2019.
Born May 18, 1974, in Pierre, S.D., to Earl and Linda Flowers, Matthew moved with his parents and older brother, Charles, to Lincoln, Neb., in 1975 before moving to West Hartford in 1981. In Connecticut, Matthew attended the CREC program at River Street in Windsor until he was 21, then transitioned to the HARC program in Hartford.
He developed aspiration pneumonia and sepsis in September 2024 and was in Hartford Hospital for three weeks, then he was moved on Oct. 16 to Riverside Health & Rehabilitation Center in East Hartford. He returned to the group home in East Hartford on Feb. 18.
From an early age, Matthew's mother insisted Matt be treated as close to normal as possible, despite his disabilities, and he was.
He was out and about in the community often, whether at school, at HARC or on weekends with his family. He attended most of his older brother's basketball, baseball, football games and spent many Friday nights in the West Hartford Public Library with his dad. He was a walker and walked with his father nearly every day at the Metropolitan District (MDC) reservoir in West Hartford and on Block Island during the family's three-week vacations.
His first trip to Block Island was a day-trip on a hot, sunny day in the early 1990s with his father, who rented a motor scooter. The two traveled the island all day, ending with ice cream on a small table overlooking the old harbor.
He is survived by his parents; his brother, Charles; nephew, Braden Flowers; and niece, Kathryn Rose Flowers, all of West Hartford.
Family and friends will be welcome to gather at Molloy Funeral Home on Sunday, June 29th from 1-3pm.