Matthew James Denton

1976 - 2025

Matthew James Denton

March 9, 1976 - May 29, 2025

Matthew James Denton passed away on May 29, 2025, in Lompoc, CA, at the age of 49. He died by suicide after battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for over a decade. He is deeply mourned by his family and friends.

Matthew was born March 9, 1976, in Chicago, IL, to Elisabeth and Donald Denton. Matthew spent his early childhood in Cutler, IN, and then in Mechanicsville, VA. As a young person he was polite, kind, humorous, and introverted. He found enjoyment by singing in the choir at his family's church, Beulah Presbyterian. He was very active in the Boy Scouts, earning his Eagle Scout Award from Troop 535. He was an avid backpacker and canoer, and loved camping in the Appalachian Mountains. Young Matthew prided himself on being a non-conformist, growing his hair long, and wearing ironic thrift store clothes. He loved sci-fi books and corresponded on early versions of the internet using DOS language. Matthew was artistic and known for being likable and funny in high school. He earned awards for art and creative writing and earned a scholarship to a creative writing camp at University of Virginia his junior year. He graduated from Lee-Davis High School in 1994.

He followed his friends and love of the northern woods to study liberal arts at Bennington College. He struggled to decide on a major so he came back home to Virginia. He was taking computer science night classes when the September 11, 2001 tragedy occurred.

Feeling called by a duty to his country, Matthew, along with his brother Luke, joined the US Marine Corps in 2002 and served in active duty until 2007. He was a helicopter mechanic specialist while stationed at Camp Pendleton. He deployed on a naval carrier, the USS Bonhomme Richard, during the Iraq War which provided support to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis. During his time in the Marines, Matthew earned six medals and a Rifle Expert badge. After his term in the Marines he settled in the sunny central coast of California and worked for a classic car restoration company with his new wife and infant son, Killian.

His struggles with PTSD made his life difficult, leading to isolation from almost everyone except his mother who traveled from Virginia twice a year to visit Matthew, and Killian. Fortunately, he obtained a 100% disability status from Veteran's Affairs for combat-related injury, which kept a roof over his head. According to a 2022 study, as many as 44 veterans a day die by suicide. Matt was much more than a statistic to his loved ones.

Matthew had a large appetite for cultural subjects dear to him. He studied sci-fi books, movies, shows, often watching them several times and reading theories about them online. His love of techno and 80s heavy metal took him and his son to several concerts, the first being a punk rock show in Lompoc, CA. He often went to Surf Beach, sharing these joys with his mother, Beth, brother, Andy, and son. He loved California and often said he felt like he won the lottery.

Matthew's greatest pride was being a loving father to his son Killian who recently graduated high school. He cherished their time together sharing similar interests throughout the years. Both are talented writers and artists, and enjoy movies, history, and science.

He is survived by parents, Donald D. Denton and Elisabeth A. Beckon Denton; stepmother, Nedra Voorhies; brothers, Andrew W. Denton and Luke A. Denton; sister-in-law, Lisa Denton; niece, Laurel Denton; nephew, Logan Denton; former wife, Kady Fleckenstein; and son, his pride and joy, Killian James Denton.

For more information visit: https://everloved.com/life-of/matthew-denton. If you or a loved one are considering suicide please call or text 988.