Matthew Joseph Mcgowan

Matthew Joseph McGowan, 8, of Lussier Avenue, Attleboro, died on Saturday, March 17, 2007 at his residence, surrounded by the love of his family, after a courageous battle with cancer. Born in Attleboro, Massachusetts on April 13, 1998, he was the son of Richard J. and Linda M. (Rijo) McGowan. He was in the third grade at Hill Roberts Elementary School, Attleboro, Massachusetts. Matthew was a vibrant boy who enjoyed all sports, especially his Attleboro Youth Soccer team. He also enjoyed watching SpongeBob SquarePants and playing Xbox. He was a communicant of St. Mark?s Roman Catholic Church, Attleboro Falls. In addition to his parents, he leaves a sister, Miranda M. McGowan of Attleboro; his maternal grandparents, Carl V. Rijo and Maria P. (Almeida) Rijo of North Attleboro; his paternal grandmother, Suzanne (Greene) McGowan of North Attleboro; several aunts, uncles and cousins. He was the grandson of the late Robert F. McGowan, Sr. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend visitation, and the family would encourage wearing colorful sports team clothing in memory of Matthew, on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 from 5:00 ? 8:00 PM in the ?Memorial Chapel? of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue (exit 5 off I-95 N or S, go right at end of ramp, mile on the left) Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro. Children?s room available during visitation. Those in need of a ride to visitation may call the funeral home at (508) 695-0200 to make an advance reservation for such gratis transportation. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Thursday, March 22, 2007 at 10:00 AM at St. Mark?s Roman Catholic Church, 105 Stanley Street (exit 5 off I-95 N or S, go right at end of ramp, turn right onto Stanley Street in mile and travel to end of Stanley Street), Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro with the Rev. Thomas Rita, Pastor, officiating. Following graveside services an invitation will be cordially extended to family and friends to join the family for a continued celebration of Matthew?s life at St. Mark?s Roman Catholic Church lower level. Burial will follow in St. Mary?s Cemetery, Attleboro Falls. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Matthew?s name may be made to either the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children, Inc., 6065 Roswell Road, NE, Suite 505, Atlanta, GA 30328-4015 or to Give Kids the World Village, 210 South Bass Road, Kissimmee, FL 34746. The following was written by Richard, Linda and Miranda in Loving Memory of Matthew: Everyone who knew Matthew, knew what a special and wonderful person he was. He was full of life and left a positive impression on everyone he met. He loved sports and could kick, hit, throw and run harder and faster than any child we knew. Many adult family and friends would go out to the yard to play ball with him thinking they had to "take it easy" with him because he was a kid. Only to come back in exhausted and complaining that they had to give their all just to keep up with him. Matthew was equally good at academics, especially math (must have got that from his dad). He was also very funny and could make anyone laugh with his crazy imitations and voices. Even throughout his illness he maintained his sense of humor. When the steroids he was on gave him an insatiable appetite, he nicknamed his stomach Fillmore (the name of his favorite character from the movie Cars), because his stomach was always telling him to "fill more" into it. He even came up with a new menu plan that included breakfast, lunch, dinner, and linner, a combination of lunch and dinner, so he could get another meal in. But perhaps what we'll remember most about Matthew is how loving and caring he was. From an early age Matthew seemed to have a sensitivity well beyond his years. He always cared about other people's feelings and would give you "the shirt off his back" if he thought it would help. When he was in preschool he made a Christmas list for the first time all by himself. Matthew only had a few items on his list and one of them was a diamond ring. When we asked him why he wanted a ring, he explained that he wanted Santa to bring it for mom. In kindergarten, an assignment asked students to write what they would do if they had $100, Matthew wrote that he would use the money to "buy things for everybody". Another assignment asked what students liked to do on a snow day. Matthew didn't choose sledding or building a snowman, he said he liked shoveling out mom and dad's cars. He always loved to help out whenever he could. Even when he was sick, he never stopped thinking of others. Last winter he started a collection for the "poor". He put all of his own money into a bucket and would actively solicit donations from anyone who came in the house. When it was full he gave the money to Father DiOrio's ministry to help the less fortunate. Whenever Matthew had to stay over at the hospital, Matthew would always order cake if they had it as a dessert choice. Matthew didn't even like cake but his sister Miranda did. So he would always order it and put it aside for her when she came to visit. Matthew loved cars. He had hundreds of Matchbox cars and knew and loved every one of them. As much as he cherished his collection, he would always give one away for someone's birthday. He would ask them what their favorite color was and then spend several minutes searching for just the right one in the person's favorite color choice. The last night before Matthew went into the hospital for his final stay, he was having a very difficult time moving and speaking. But he was excited because his Uncle Mikey was coming over to watch a New England Revolution soccer game. It was also the week of Uncle Mikey's birthday and Matthew was determined not to forget it. He used all his strength to fingerspell (he was now using a keyboard to do most of his communication), "What is Uncle Mikey's favorite color?" We immediately knew what he was up to. We called Michael to find out what his favorite color was and then we pulled out several blue cars so Matthew could pick just the right one to give his uncle. That was Matthew, giving and strong until the very end. In his short life he had to endure and go through more than most adults, and he did it all courageously. Thank you for celebrating Matthew's life with us, if you have any stories about Matthew you would like to share; we would love to hear them. Please e-mail them to us at rmcgo@yahoo.com or mail them to us at 71 Lussier Ave., Attleboro, MA 02703. To send the family an expression of sympathy, please visit our on-line register book located on the internet at www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com . Arrangements under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro. (508) 695-0200.