Matt was born on October 13, 1961, in Springfield, Massachusetts, to Donald and Helen Brooks. He graduated from West Springfield High School in 1979 and went on to earn 4 degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, including a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Microbiology, a Master’s of Science (MS) in Chemistry, a Master’s of Science (MS) in Pesticide Toxicology, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Chemistry. He loved school and learning so much and has proclaimed on several occasions that if he was still allowed to be a student, he would be right back there in the lab.
It was at UMass that Matt met his first love and the mother of his children, Laura Kehoe. He won her over with his annoying yet charming wit over a few (or a hundred) games of pool – it only took asking her out every day for 6 months to win her over! They got married in 1988 and slowly moved down the east coast until settling briefly in Princeton, New Jersey, where they had their daughter, Sierra Brooks. A few years later, they settled in Clifton, Virginia, where they had their son, Wyatt Brooks.
They raised Sierra and Wyatt to share Matt’s passion for science and knowledge, plus Laura’s passion for sports, as well as their shared love of the outdoors and adventure. As a family they went on yearly road trips up the coast to Canada to ski, Massachusetts for friends, Cape Cod for the beaches, and always stopped at his favorite town, Princeton. Not to be left out, they also embarked on numerous drives across the country through the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and Reptile Gardens to Wyoming. Matt and Laura divorced in 2017 but remained close friends ever since.
An endless proponent of higher education, Matt was so proud of Sierra for pursuing her undergraduate education at MIT and PhD at the University of Texas at Austin, and of Wyatt for pursuing his undergraduate and graduate education at Carnegie Mellon. Matt wore their school swag on a weekly, if not daily, basis and couldn’t stop telling others just how proud he was.
Not willing to be boxed in by corporate bureaucracy, Matt used his brains and initiative to start his own chemical consulting company, Ag Chem Consulting, in 2002, where he helped hundreds of clients get pesticides approved by the EPA. He built the business from the ground up and used it selflessly to support his family, where he is trusted by his loyal clients to this day. Matt also used the flexibility of working for himself to his and his loved ones’ advantage – if anything big or small came up he was always willing to drop everything to help and didn’t let work get in the way.
In 2018 he married the love of his life, Teri Brooks. They bonded over a shared love of musical theatre, tennis, music, dancing, and exploring the world – plus the fact that they are both left-handed, only child libras. They were able to travel the world together beginning in 2023 – exploring Singapore, Switzerland, Argentina, Scotland, Ireland, England, and France. He graciously took in Teri’s kids as his own, as well as her dog, Ramona, and they lovingly raised their dog Chico together.
Matt was known for his witty humor, with classic jokes for every situation that sounded funny the first, or 70th time he told them.
Matt is survived by his wife Teri, his children Wyatt and Sierra, his former wife and close friend, Laura, and his stepchildren, Katie, Matthew, and Grace.
Matt’s funeral service will be held this Friday, December 6th, at Demaine Funeral Home in Fairfax, VA at 10:30am, with an 11am service. We will then be having a celebration of life at his favorite restaurant in Clifton, Trattoria Villagios, from 1-4pm.
Matt’s generosity, humor, kindness, energy, wit, selflessness, and love touched all of those around him. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered by all of his family and friends.
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