Matthew Kipling Williams

November 12, 1997 – March 10, 2023

Matty had a gift. If he saw something cool, he could sit down and draw it. If he heard a song he liked, he could sit at a piano and play it by ear.

He had an artist’s mind and the soul to match. But in March of 2022, the very mind that gifted our son with so much talent suddenly betrayed him. Matt was dragged into a crippling depression that he spent the last year trying to escape.

On March 10, 2023, after trying every treatment and medication that was presented to him, our beautiful boy decided to take his own path out of the darkness.

Matthew Kipling Williams was a loving son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend. We love him. We miss him. And we pray the world comes up with a better answer to the illness he was going through.

Matt was born in Atlanta, Georgia on November 12, 1997. He grew up a happy-go-lucky kid joined at the hip with his partner-in-crime and fraternal twin brother Brandon, and was never far from the protective wing of big sister Brooke. He graduated from Sandalwood High School, earned an AA from the University of North Florida, and was just a few classes shy of earning his Bachelors from UNF as well. He worshipped Coldplay, loved Tottenham (COYS), and liked playing video games with his brother and friends. And even when medication cloaked his spirit in a heavy fog, Matt still enjoyed whipping up on fools who dared challenge him to foosball.

Not surprisingly, Matt’s best and happiest days of the last year were spent cooking with Brooke in her kitchen, fishing the Intracoastal with his dad and brother, and just hanging out listening to Coldplay with his mom.

“Nobody said it was easy.

Oh, it’s such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be so hard

I’m going back to the start…”

Rest easy now son, and know that we will always, always love you.

Matthew Williams, 25, is survived by his parents Kelley and Damon Williams; siblings Brooke and Brandon; grandparents Linda Benson, Mike and Pam Christnacht, and Patti Sholik.

The family plans on celebrating Matthew’s memory with a small, private service at sea. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you remember Matty by following his Matty K. Williams playlist on Spotify, ( https://open.spotify.com/user/vivalamatthew ) consider a donation to HereTomorrow.org., and take every opportunity you get to tell the people in your life how much they mean to you.