Matthew John Horton

Matt was born on September 19, 1963 in Oscoda, Michigan to Ezra and Eleanor Horton. He had two siblings, Lisa and Mark. He was born with pale blue eyes and fiery red hair that would one day turn blonde and eventually grey. Matt grew up as an Air Force brat who lived in Germany and Colorado. He and his family would often go camping, hiking, and sightseeing. These fond memories caused him to fall in love with his home state of Colorado. He graduated from Widefield High School in 1981. A few months later, Matt enlisted in the Air Force. During his time in the Air Force, Matt was deployed to serve in South Korea. In South Korea, Matt met, fell in love with, and soon married Mi Kang. They were married until his death.

Matt moved to the United States with Mia. Together, they started a life and a family. He pursued a college education, graduating from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1988. Matt also pursued a Naval career as a Nuclear Engineer eventually transitioning into the military intelligence community. He served tours in the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He always tirelessly called home to ensure his family that he was safe and would be home soon. He would proudly serve until his retirement as a Commander in the fall of 2021. On the civilian side, Matt began work in the technology field as a system administrator. He became a software engineer and eventually worked in cyber security.

In his free time, Matt loved to spend time with his daughters and friends, hike, journal, organize audiobooks and comic books, play board games, and read. He was always fond of learning and never hesitated to help his children with their homework even up through college. He loved to help others learn; his strongest subjects were math and science, and he had a huge passion for history, too. He loved hiking and exploring the mountains of Colorado. He loved to travel to far away destinations spanning the globe. He loved to eat the pretzels with beer cheese in Germany and to snorkel off the crystal clear shores of Guam. He loved outer space, strategy games, and science fiction. His love for science fiction, strategy games, and community was so great that he would eagerly wait to attend the Mile Hi Con every year. He would wait all year for this favorite weekend of his to spend time with friends doing things that he loved. He loved science, dinosaurs, the color green, and dogs. His favorite animals were lions, tigers, and elephants. Anyone that met Matt, would immediately recognize and love his great use of sarcasm and incredibly dry sense of humor. He had the kindest heart and some of the deepest empathy known to man.

Matt is survived by his wife, Mia Horton; his daughters, Alina Grill (Joseph Grill) and Elizabeth Nocon (Eric Nocon); his sister, Lisa Hartman (Dan Hartman); his grandson, John Grill; a niece, Dr. Brittany Hartman; and a nephew, Kyle Hartman.

Preceded in death by his parents, Ezra and Eleanor Horton; brother, Mark Horton; and granddaughter, Isabel Grill.