SPC Matthew C. Powell

On Tuesday, October 12, 2010, SPC Matthew C. Powell died of wounds suffered while serving our country in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border. He was assigned to Company A, 526th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division . Proud of his accomplishments achieved since joining the U.S. Army, his last post to his Facebook page said “If people knew what we really do out here, they would be so surprised!”

He is survived by his mother, Janie Rabalais Powell; his father, Lloyd “Butch” P. Powell, III; his stepmother, Connie S. Powell; his sister,Tiffany Christina Powell; his brother, Michael R. Taylor and his grandparents: Lena Mae Gagliano Rabalais, Lloyd P. Powell, Jr. and Jackie McDonald. He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Guy A. Rabalais, Sr. He will also be missed by his aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and numerous friends.

He attended Northshore High School and was a member of Grace Memorial Baptist Church in Slidell, LA.

The Funeral Service will be held at Garden of Memories Funeral Home, 4900 Airline Drive in Metairie, LA on Friday, October 22, 2010 at 12:00 noon. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Thursday evening, October 21, 2010 from 6:00 PM until 10:00 PM and on Friday, October 22, 2010 from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM. Interment will follow in Garden of Memories Cemetery.

The family requests that contributions be made to the Fisher House Foundation, Inc.,111 Rockville Pike, Suite 420, Rockville, MD 20850-5168 in order to provide humanitarian needs to other military members and their families that are usually not met by Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.