Mr. Matthew "Chewy" Paul Smith

Matthew Paul “Chewy” Smith, age 27, passed away on Sunday, October 24, 2010. Loving son of Al Smith, Jr., and Debbie B. Smith. Brother of Alvin D. Smith, III (Stacey) and Stephanie Smith. Uncle of Gunnar, Bailey and Abby. Also survived by aunts, uncles, cousins and a multitude of wonderful friends. He was a graduate of John Curtis Christian High School, an employee of Paretti Mazda for several years and he fought for RMMA and was known as “Chewy”. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Funeral. Services will be held at Garden of Memories Funeral Home, 4900 Airline Drive in Metairie on Thursday, October 28, 2010 at 11:00 am. Visitation from 9:00 am until service time. Interment will follow in Garden of Memories Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Special Olympics, 1000 East Morris Ave., Hammond, LA 70403.Condolences may be offered online at www.gardenofmemoriesfuneralhome.com.

Chewy was born on January the 6th 1983 as Matthew Paul Smith. He was very upset that his name was not Dudley after his grandfather. He was the youngest of us three. Older sister Stephanie and older brother Alvin. Stephanie would always dress him up like a girl and he liked it. Mom would get mad(scared) that he liked it too much and would punish us. Even as a child he would talk to strangers and tell them all sorts of stories that they would believe. He has a birthmark on his belly button and would tell everyone that mom spilled coffee on him and it was a coffee stain. He went to Green Park school and played ball at Delta Playground. He always loved for dad to take us hunting and fishing. I remember when he was little and we were fishing at Port Sulphur and he thought he was snagged on a pipe. He handed the pole to dad and the line started running out. Dad handed it back to Matt and he fought it for a while. This was Matts first redfish. He also enjoyed for mom(who was born a Boudreaux) to teach him to cook. After Green Park he went to John Curtis Christian where he cut up, wrestled and played football. One of his highschool part time jobs was working at Dr. Steves snowball stand where instead of selling snowballs he would kick back in a chair and play the guitar and sing to all the girls that would come by. Dr Steve would always have to remind him that he was supposed to be selling snowballs. Matts famous quote was "I'm getting to that".

His great friend Tony Duplain talked him into trying out for the wrestling team which as yall know turned out to be a life long passion. In high school he won 2 wrestling state championships and 3 football state championships. He still credits much of his success to his high school wrestling coach Larry Savery. Here is a quote from Matt on ESPN.com-Fighter Profile of the month "I would have to say I owe my talent and success to three people. Tony who got me into wrestling in the 7th grade, my high school coach, Larry Savery, and most of all my sister, Stephanie. She was always a great swimmer and hard worker. We became best friends when I got to high school and she was a senior at the same school. She was our mat girl in wrestling and was at every tournament and in my corner for every match. The next three years while she swam at LSU she continued to make it to every match she could. She was there for both of my state final matches. She still supports me to do better every day."

Matthew and the friends that knew where he got his nickname "Chewy" from have done a great job keeping it a secret because at this very second me, Stephanie, and my mom are all laughing about it and none of us know the truth.

After high school Chewy went to Mississippi College on a partial football scholarship and played football there for two years. Around this time is when Matt started his yearly tradition "The Chewy Boil". He then returned home and started to pursue his love for cooking by getting into the restaurant business. He worked at McAllisters deli for a while and then became a sous chef at a local restaurant.

He then began his sales career at Paretti Mazda where he became a part of another wonderful family. At this time he also got into Mixed Martial Arts. He began training and when he fought he always packed the house with all of the friends and family he met throught the years. He was also famous for his "Chewy dance". Chewy even went as far as moving to Dallas TX for a year to futher advance his MMA training. He was the Amateur and Professional RMMA Heavyweight Title holder. When Matt returned home he and Steph bought a house together in Metairie and Matt began fishing like a madman. He went on tons of fishing trips and caught tons of fish. He was always sooo proud. He always continued his hunting and fishing with dad and cooking like mom. My brother may be gone from our lives but will never ever be gone from our hearts. We love you forever.

"Chewy"

by Coach Larry Savery

As many of you talked to me over the phone or in person, we tended to look for answers to such questions as, Why did he do it?, What was he thinking?, What was his frame of mind? Chances are we will never truly know. And that is unsettling. But as I stand before you, I stand in peace. Not comforted by his decision but comforted by the acceptance of the person who was my friend.

As I think about Chewy and am overwhelmed by the maelstrom of feelings and memories, two incidents jump out at me illustrating who Chewy was. One, is the reason we are here, the other, and it is the one I choose to remember him by, is the first time I saw him wrestle.

We were at a Jesuit JV tournament. He was in wrestlebacks having gone land 1. Before the match we went over how we were going to wrestle this guy. In the 3rd round Chewy was losing by 2 points. I was a 23 year-old First year Head-Coach. I elected to go the safe route. I told Chewy, Ride him, break him down, look for a half to turn him. So what does this 167 Ibs. chubby 8th grader do? He spins to the front, giving the opponent an extra point for an escape, then Chewy crossfaces him, putting the wrestler on his back and pinning him. I was, at first, beside myself. This 167 Ibs. chubball just ignored conventional wisdom. I asked him, "Why did you do that?" He looked a little abashed and said, "I was going for the win. "

I was going for the win. That is Chewy.

I don't know Chewy as a hunter, a fisherman, a football player, a son, a brother, an MMA fighter, a boyfriend. I know him as a wrestler and a friend. He epitomized who a wrestler was. We prepare with the mindframe that no one is going to outwork us. That no one is going to take us down. We stand alone against an opponent. We win or lose alone. We make no excuses. Our decisions are action reaction. We don't look back. And there is no remorse. I didn't realize it at the time he won that JV match that, that little 167 Ibs. kid was kindred to my own soul. We adopted his stubborn attitude and didn't do what conventional wisdom dictated.

They say if you are lucky only 3-4 individuals come into your world, and touch your life in a remarkable manner. A few individuals are just embers of light during your life, while others are constant fires raging for years. For me, Chewy is a constant fire. He was and always will be my friend.

Chewy was socially selective. If he didn't like you, you knew it. But if he did, you knew that also. I came to Curtis the summer of 96. I was a fish out of water. A wrestler surrounded by football players. I inherited a team of three wrestlers. Chewy was among them. My relationship with Chewy evolved from Coach to player to, a friendship that went beyond words. At times we switched roles. He became the teacher. He took me on my first fishing trip. It was Tony, dad, and Chewy. They took turns baiting the line for me; they showed me how to cast it. I was a magnet for catching Sheep heads. He introduced me to Deer Jerky. That was an experience as I never knew what jerky was. He prepared me for teaching about the birds and the bees when he had an infatuation with skittles candy. He made me a better coach and a better friend.

When did this friendship metamorphosis happen? I don't know. It could have been between the time we would tease him about his sister his ninth grade year to when we would go over the strategy that would catapult him to his first state championship his junior year. I grew to be proud of him like a parent would.

By the time his senior year came around, I remember feeling so comfortable around him. We would take sick pleasure in making the Andrew Jackson kids scream as we Jacob them. I remember he would take their foot and put it up to their foreheads. When they would be tapping out and the referee would tell him to let it go but when the referee looked away he would grab it again. It was legal. He was going for the win.

This friendship was strange and new because I had never experienced that before, only with him and his team mates. I felt like I could tell him anything because he understood how I thought and no response was necessary and vice versa. He was a consistent figure in my life, which I could turn to for friendship and support.

That friendship and support continued after he graduated. He was always there when I needed him. He became part of my family. My oldest, Lauren, knows him as Santa Chewy. When she was four he dressed up like Santa for Christmas. To this day she remembers he scared her to death. We shared some wonderful times together. I will never forget them.

There are only a few people who have walked into my life and changed it forever: My wife, two beautiful daughters, my son, Chewy and his teammates. He gave me the opportunity to open up to somebody. I enjoyed spending time with him. He was the first one at Curtis who befriended me.

He was honest to a fault. I remember when his nickname Chewy took a whole different meaning. We were in Chalmette and he bit his opponent. The referee, Stan Kotterman, asked and he didn't deny it. He said the guy was covering his mouth and nose and he couldn't breathe. The arm was there so he bit him. He was so embarrassed about what he did. We talked. He learned. He never did it again.

I won't get a chance to help him correct his latest blunder. But that's OK. Cause our relationship is still intact. He has taught me that life is short, and the most important part of life is the people in it. I will be grateful for his teachings forever and hope others will to as this is my third wrestler and friend who was involved in a tragedy.

To his friends, he wouldn't want you to beat yourself up thinking about why he did it, what he was thinking, or his frame of mind. He makes no excuse, so there can be no remorse about something that can't be taken back. He would want your acceptance. and for you to keep his memory in the good part of your relationship.

To his family, Mr. AI, Big AI, Stephanie, Ms. Debbie I love you as if you were my own because you were his. Ms. Debbie you thanked me for loving your baby. But it is I who should thank you for allowing me to love him.

Chewy, I love you. I miss you. My Miah said when she sees rays of sunshine dancing in the skies it's because Jesus is showing you heaven. I hope he shows you a mat where all your days are Superman days. You have graced my life more than you will ever know. God bless. And always, always go for the win.