Mathew D. Tourtillott

Mathew Duane Tourtillott our beloved “Yoda”, age 49, (Loomis, California) returned Home peacefully in his sleep, while holding hands with the love of his life Barbara “Pooh”, during the early morning hours of Thursday, April 12th, 2012, after his courageous 7 year fight with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC).

Matt was born January 10th, 1963 in Santa Maria, California to Duane Allen & Renee (Brown) Tourtillott, and lovingly raised by his father Duane and his step mom Joann (East) Tourtillott. Matt grew up in Santa Maria, CA, later moving to Fair Oaks, CA where he attended elementary and high school. In 1981 Matt continued his education as an auto mechanic in Phoenix, Arizona at UTI (Universal Technical Institute). In 1980 he met the love of his life, Barbara Jean Madzelan over the phone; it was love at first ‘voice’. They were later married in Orangevale, California on April 9th, 1983. In 1984 they welcomed their first child into the family, a son Gregory Allen, sadly Gregory was only here on earth for a very short time before returning home to our Heavenly Father. Their next child, a daughter Jennifer arrived in 1986, followed by another daughter April in 1988, a son David in 1992 and their youngest daughter Robin in 1994.

After renting apartments, in Fair Oaks and Citrus Heights, for the first 3 years of their marriage they finally purchased their first home in 1986, where they raised their four youngest children. Their home was located in the town of Loomis California, “Where a small town is like a big family”.

Matt worked as an auto mechanic for 19 years for Autocraft (Ron Bair), in Orangevale, California. Matt loved to tinker with electronics and in an effort to be home more with his family, he then proceeded to strike out on his own and began a career in the home /car stereo repair business under the business name: MT Electronics, during which time he also gained an interest in the Internet, teaching himself how to create web pages. Next he decided to venture even further and become an Internet Presence Provider; thus, MarkeTrends, Inc. was founded. He built MarkeTrends from the ground up, starting with one server, and eventually hosting and maintaining more than 200 servers, and thousands of individual web sites. Matt greeted his customer’s everyday on the phone with a friendly “Matt Speaking”. Matt always had a kind word for those he knew, and he loved helping everyone. He patiently taught all with whom he came into contact. No question was ever too difficult, if he didn’t know the answer; he would research it and get back to you. He even educated all of us on Facebook with his “Did You Know” posts. Matt was an honest and hard-working man, even during his battle with Cancer, he continued to amaze us all. After being put under Hospice care in November 2010, he continued to take a very active role in his own care.. There were a number of times when we all thought the end had come, but Matt would happily surprise us, and come fighting back, determined to not let his Cancer take him before he met his many goals in life, the birth of his first grandchild Adam Mathew, Adam’s 1st Christmas, His 49th birthday, to his final goal of celebrating his 29th wedding anniversary with his beloved Pooh bear, Barbara. He will be fondly remembered for his beautiful smile, his ability to always comfort those he loved and his never ending passion for zip-ties.

Mathew was Pre deceased by his parents Duane (1989) and Renee (1979) and his loving “mom” Joann (East) Tourtillott(1995), his son Gregory Allen (1984), his brothers Randall (Randy) Ray Tourtillott (1999) and Chris Dexter Shields (2011).

He is survived by his loving wife and best friend Barbara Jean Tourtillott, aka Pooh; children Jennifer (Aaron) Ruch of Dublin, California; April, David & Robin Tourtillott, of Loomis, California; Sisters: Sandra Jean (Kurt) Kocher of Crosby, North Dakota; Sharlene (Mark) Baldwin of Orem, Utah; and Edris (Kyle) Carter of Levan, Utah; and step brother Paul Betts (aka Ricky Tourtillott) of Wildomar, California; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

Family and friends are invited to attend Mathew’s viewing on Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 from 4pm - 8pm at Mount Vernon Memorial Park, located at 8201 Greenback Lane, Fair Oaks California, 95628

A 2nd shorter viewing will take place on the morning of Wednesday, April 18th, 2012 from 9am to 9:45am in Loomis at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, located at 3345 Margaret Drive, Loomis, CA 95650. The funeral will begin at 10am, at the same location. After the funeral you are welcome to join the procession down to the gravesite, located at Mount Vernon Memorial Park.