Five year old Garrett Matthias died on July 6 of a rare form of cancer that affected his cranial nerve and inner year.
He was an exuberant and creative five year old, who loved super heroes, and his parents have chosen to share his personality, his words, andhis ideas through a unique obituaryand a joyful celebration of life that they hosted at their home in Van Meter this past weekend.
During this Talk of Iowa segment, host Charity Nebbe talks with Emilie Matthias, Garrett’s mom, about why she and her husband chose to write their son’s obituary in the style that they did, and how the idea for his celebration of life, complete with five bouncy houses, snow cones and a recreation of a funeral scene from a Thor movie.
“Garrett asked for that. One day we were driving home, and we passed a cemetery, and they happened to be burying someone at the time. Garrett was very curious,” Matthias says. “We talked a lot about what happens after you die. And just out of nowhere Garrett goes, 'well, I don’t want to be buried, I wanted to be burned… I want to be burned. Remember mommy, like when Thor’s mommy died?'”
“I remember that we had to watch that movie and that part when we got home, so he could show me, so that I would know exactly what he was talking about. And so that was part of the inspiration for doing what we did.”
Matthias also talks about Garrett's sense of humor and his affinity for strategically placing whoopie cushions around his hospital room for doctors and nurses to "discover." There is a Go Fund Me for medical expensesin Garrett's honor that can be found here.
