Matthew Edward Wilkinson

Matthew Edward Wilkinson was born to Stephen and Bonnie Wilkinson on April 22, 1991 and joined his
elder sister Jennifer in their home in Santa Ana, California the following day. The family moved to
Oregon in 1994 just prior to the birth of Kathleen. A year later, they moved to Oregon City where his
youngest sister Emily was born in 1997. He attended Gaffney Elementary, Gardiner Middle School and
graduated from Oregon City High School in 2009. He was active in Cub and Boy Scouts and played the
clarinet in middle and high school, as well as part of the church orchestra. He enrolled at Oregon State
University with the plan to pursue an engineering degree and ended up changing majors to Healthcare
Management with a minor in Computer Science, graduating in 2015 with a bachelor's degree just as his
sister Emily was heading to Corvallis to pursue her own education at OSU. He was active on campus at
OSU and served as a resident advisor in one of the dorms his senior year plus participating in the on-
campus ballroom dance team. After graduation from OSU, he returned to the family home in Oregon
City, working for Oregon Health Science University clinics prior to pursuing an intense program in
software development with Epicodus in 2022. He was an avid biker and loved green spaces, and as the
program with Epicodus was wrapping up, he moved back to Corvallis where it was much more friendly
to commute by bike than car. He continued to participate with the dance groups on campus and
regularly worked out at Dixon.
He met Paul and Gideon Burris when he was in fifth grade and the three of them continued as close
friends for over twenty years. Matt lived with Paul and his wife Allison when the three of them were
students at OSU, and despite physical distances, he and the Burris men kept in frequent touch. He had
multiple friends that he kept in touch with virtually, and always hoped that he would find a partner like
Paul and Gideon. One of his fondest memories was when Gideon and Trinka got married in Hawaii- he
reflected that Oahu was so beautiful. He loved to hike and be outdoors, and going through his posts on
multiple media, he frequently stated that he wanted to visit Redwoods National Forest someday, as his
memories of a trip and stay in Yosemite and one in Big Bear, California were very meaning to him.
He had a special bond with his cat Tigerlily and with his youngest sister Emily when they were growing
up. Many pictures on his phone and computer were snapshots of him and Emily posing and making
faces together as well as he and Tigerlilly. With the birth of his nephew Steven in 2018, he became
more connected with his sister Kathleen, and Uncle Matt was an important person in Steven's life. He
loved to cook and be active, despite some health issues, and always was a positive light in many lives