Matthew Scott Boyd

Matthew Scott Boyd, 35, of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, went to his eternal home on June 4, 2016, after a long, hard-fought battle with Rectal Cancer. He was surrounded by his loving wife Susan and family.

Visitation will be held at Munden Funeral Home on June 9, 2016 beginning at 4 pm. The funeral service will follow at 5 pm with Pastor Tim Marriner officiating.

Matthew was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on February 8, 1981. He moved to Morehead City with his family in 1987 and has called Carteret County home ever since. Matthew attended West Carteret High School and Carteret Community College.

Matthew was an extremely hard worker who took pride in caring for his home, yard, and every project he set his hands to. His curiosity was apparent from a young age. Matthew loved to take things apart just so he could figure out how to put them back together. This love of problem-solving made him a naturally skilled maintenance technician, able to work in a variety of settings. He could fix anything-from a computer to an air conditioner, a toilet to a transmission. He was not only a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of many. At the time of his diagnosis, he was working in property maintenance; however, he had completed his Microsoft A+ certifications, in the hopes of moving into a career in IT support. Initially, he was hired by Hewlett Packard as an ambassador for their new line of PC devices, and was being recruited by the IT company responsible for upgrading Navy and Marine Corps IT Systems at area military bases. Unfortunately, Matthew was unable to move forward with this opportunity due to his diagnosis.

Matthew was always known for his smile and genuine kindness. He truly enjoyed helping others, whether it was a friend, neighbor, family member, or someone he just met. He took great pride in the simple things in life. He loved caring for his family, his Ford F-150, and was proud of his accomplishments in the gym, power-lifting and “gettin’ gains”.

Matthew was a big kid at heart, he enjoyed taking his younger siblings and nieces and nephews on adventures, playing video games with them, and he was always the first to sit at the kid table during holidays. Some of his favorite past-times were fishing, grilling, working in the yard, sunset boat rides on the ICW with his love, Susan, and spending time with family and friends.

After his diagnosis, Matthew sought to live each day to the fullest. He and his wife Susan set out to make as many memories as possible. They went on a cruise to the Caribbean, snorkeled in Cozumel, and took a 10-day road trip throughout the state, making time to stop at many small towns and scenic places along the way. Matthew and Susan’s NC adventures included zip-lining through the Nantahala Gorge and soaking in the hot springs alongside the French Broad River.  With every trip they took, Matthew was always thankful to come home to Carteret County.

Matthew is survived by his loving wife, Susan Barber Staley of Atlantic Beach and their fur-babies, Mac and Mya; his parents Jim and Jeannie Boyd of Morehead City, his grandmother Mary MacDonald, also of Morehead City, and his eight siblings: brothers James Boyd, Adam Boyd, Jacob Boyd, and his sister Melissa Moore, brother-in-law Anthony, and nieces Kelsey and Addison, all of Morehead City; his sister Bonnie Lazaruk and brother-in-law Casey of Havelock; his sister Rachel Boyd of New Bern; his brother Kyle Boyd of Newport; his sister Andrea Swain, brother-in-law Kyle, and his nieces Kaitlyn, Savannah, and nephew Zaden all of Evansville, Indiana; mother-in-law Carolyn “Mawmaw” Barber, sister-in-law Crystal Parker, brother-in-law Jimmy, and niece Sydnie, nephew Jimmy III and Susan and Matthew’s nephew and special buddy Hayden, all of Liberty, NC; brother-in-law Barry Barber, sister-in-law Cecelia, and niece Sarah Margaret of Asheboro, NC;  and many more beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends from Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, Missouri, Florida and Texas.

Matthew is preceded in death by paternal grandparents Maxwell and Mildred Boyd, maternal grandfather Cecil Richard MacDonald, and father-in-law Eddie Barber.

Heartfelt thanks to Matthew’s Hospice nurse, Robin, for her care and compassion, as well as the entire team at Carteret Health Care Home Health and Hospice, Dr. Cuervo and the staff of the Carteret Cancer Center, Dr. Reichart and the staff at Crystal Coast Family Practice, and friends and neighbors of Coastal Mobile Estates.

Matthew was our grill-master, IT tech-whiz, jokester, gamer, our “MacGyver”, and “Mr. Fix-it”. We will miss his humor, his wit, his strength, his laughter, his smile, his friendship and love.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Glad Tidings Church, (Give Forward Fund), 4621 Country Club Rd. Morehead City, NC 28557.