Matthew J. Carey of Grand Rapids, Michigan, age 38, sailed into the West on January 7,2022. He was brought into existence by Ross and Theresa (Koda) Carey on February 18, 1983, in Traverse City, MI. Matt was born the oldest of four children. He was a 2001 graduate from Traverse City Central High School and received a Bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University, in film and video. His love of film started early, spending much of his time with siblings, cousins, and friends creating epic masterpieces such as Ham Sandwich, the Killer Klown Saga, and Attack of the Killer Tube. In addition to his own films, Matt adored Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and the collected works of Bill Murray. Much of his time was also spent exploring his love of video games. Matt loved, and excelled at, Super Mario, Mega Man, Castlevania, Perfect Dark, & World of Warcraft. Matt became notoriously famous on the Grand Valley campus, and around the world, for piloting Rebel Starfighters. Over the years he ably transformed mere cars into an X-Wing, an A-Wing, and a Y-Wing; all guided by his trusty R-2 Unit. For 10 years, Matt was a denizen of the Prospect House, a place he shared with many lifelong friends. A decade of nights were spent singing karaoke, playing dungeons and dragons, and sticking to a strict diet of pizza every Friday. In between days spent working at Kingma’s Market, Eikenhout, and building his own x-wing, Matt liked to flex his creative muscles. He spent time performing with the Murder Mystery Company, and scaring your socks off at the Haunt. Matt also had a knack for hand-drawing his own birthday and holiday cards, he loved making pottery, and rumor has it once spent an entire autumn befriending the elusive sasquatch. Matt was a true product of Northern Michigan, and he never missed a chance to go sledding. Whether it was daring runs down steep hills growing up, or his family’s tradition of going down the cabin hill at midnight on New Years, he would often be found hurtling down a snowy slope on “one of the good ones.” He and his wife even entered the Cardboard Bobsled Derby on multiple occasions, giving Matt the perfect excuse to combine sledding with one of his other true passions; building stuff out of cardboard. Matt’s love for Halloween was great, and deeply infectious. He was a wonderful decorator, made excellent costumes, and, come October, no pumpkin was safe. Matt's love for making costumes went well beyond halloween however, and there was no occasion too small to warrant the wearing of one. He was known to dress up for film screenings, concerts, and just because he could. On October 20, 2018, Matt married his best friend, Kaitie. They were wed at the Wealthy Theatre in Grand Rapids, in one of the finest mawwiage ceremonies the town had ever seen. Matt met Kaitie in the film department equipment room at Grand Valley in 2006, and they reconnected for good in October 2013. On their first date, Matt surprised Kaitie with cider and pumpkin carving in the park, and the rest was destiny. Matt’s legacy on this planet is one of joy, kindness, creativity and Second Breakfast. He was a person who enriched the lives of anyone lucky enough to have known him. Matt will be with us always, spreading love and humor from the little hobbit hole he inhabits in each of our hearts. Matt is survived by wife Kaitlyn (Lange), his parents, brothers Neil and Spencer, sister Elizabeth, extensive family, countless friends, and his two humongous cats Ralph and Frank. A Celebration of Life will take place at Riverside Park Island Shelter (entrance off Guild St NW) in Grand Rapids, MI on June 11th, 2022 at 6:30pm. Those wishing to offer expressions of sympathy are encouraged to make a memorial contribution to the Wealthy Theatre @ https://grcmc.org/theatre/donate. “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.” - Yoda https://www.ofieldfuneralhome.com/obituary/Matthew-Carey Venmo - @Kaitie-Carey CashApp - @KaitlynNicholeCarey PayPal - @KaitlynLange - *This app takes some of the donation*