Matthew Saad

Matthew was born in Washington, DC , was a graduate of Marshfield High school, and The University of New Hampshire, with a bachelors degree in Medical Microbiology. He continued his studies at Prep MD and was employed in Cardiac Rhythm Management for Biotronik in the Boston area.

Matthew is survived by his parents, Ramzi and Barbara, his brother, Benjamin William, 25, sister Amelia Margaret, 15, his grandfather, Bartley Cilento, MD and he leaves behind 18 aunts and uncles and 29 cousins.

Matthew was engaged to be married to his soulmate and the love of his life, Kristen Marie Silva. Their wedding was to be September 7, 2018. He described his love for Kristen as “a dream come true”. Kristen and Matthew found true love with each other and were so excited to have recently moved into their first home in Halifax.

Matthew’s love for life was surpassed only by his love for family. He was always the first to plan a bike ride, go kayaking, have a family game night or simply have a family dinner. He was happiest when he was with family, engaged in an activity or planning his next adventure. He would educate himself on every interest, become an expert and master the craft. He rebuilt his beloved Subaru, tackled home projects with ease and was incredibly tech savvy. Matthew loved extended family gatherings with his cousins, aunts and uncles. He thought nothing of jumping in the car for a 4-hour ride to visit his 95 year old Uncle Ed and family, visit his great-grandmother in New Hampshire, learn to cook Arabic food with his Teta or his Aunt Carmen. Matthew welcomed people into his home and heart with a uniquely beautiful combination of sensitivity, vulnerability and personal strength.

A visitation took place on Wednesday August 1, 2018 from 4-8pm at Richardson-Gaffey Funeral Home, 382 First Parish Road, Scituate. A Funeral Mass was held on Thursday August 2, 2018 at 11am from St. Mary of the Nativity Church, 1 Kent Street, Scituate. He was laid to rest next to his beloved grandmother Margaret Cilento at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Scituate.

Matthew always felt compelled to help people less fortunate than himself. His plan was to spend his career providing healthcare to those in need. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:

The Matthew Saad Memorial Fund

c/o Eastern Bank

1265 Belmont Street

Brockton, MA 02301

A donation in Matthew’s name will be made to Medicines for Humanity, a non-profit organization that is dedicated to saving the lives of the world’s most vulnerable children from preventable illness. Words of comfort may be left at www.richardsongaffeyfuneralhome.com.

Matthew was a beautiful soul; we will miss him every day of our lives.

A tribute by Ben Saad -

Often times throughout history, the world has been presented with ideas or inventions so unique that people fail to see the practicality or impact of it until it is so deeply woven into to the tapestry of our existence, that the very thought of living without it becomes inconceivable. When my brother Matthew brought his light to the world, no one had any idea the impact he would have on the lives he illuminated.

Anyone who knew Matt as kid, knew he could universally be described as a master of mischief, commander of attention, bringer of joy, lender of ears, and above all, an on-call super hero ready to be by the side of anybody who needed him at a moment’s notice. Those who had the pleasure of watching him grow up knew that those same qualities would still define him perfectly today. He did not fit the cookie cutter mold he was placed into at young age. He required a different degree of attention, thought, and parent-teacher conferences to capture the sense of wonder he had for the world around him Matt’s relentless persistence and genuine immersion in the things that interested him proved to be among his greatest assets and most irreplaceable qualities. When he put his mind to something, whether it was building his car, mastering a game or creating meaningful relationships with those he met, he was unparalleled. He landed himself in the highest of graces of those who truly got to know him, whether they liked it or not. He wanted nothing more than to impact the world by helping people and I’m not sure if he knew just how much he did that.

One of the most important things Matthew taught us all was how to love: How to love a woman, how to love a mother, a father, siblings, how to love a friend, and unsurprisingly, how to love an enemy. His genuine desire to fill the hearts of those he loved with no expectation of reciprocity was a revitalizing gift to the fortunate many on the receiving end. He never left an ounce of love on the table.

All of this benevolence did not come without struggles. At times, it seemed like the cards life dealt to my brother would cause even the most seasoned player to fold. But he played his hand better than anyone I have ever seen. And through it all he found the unlimited capacity to give. He found joy in helping others, and this was self-evident from an early age. From his humble beginnings of Hula-hooping for elderly people at the local nursing home, rebuilding houses for those struck by disaster in Georgia, demonstrating his craftsmanship and love for the thrill year after year working the haunted house at the Marshfield fair grounds, all the way up to becoming a volunteer fire fighter with The Roslyn Fire department in New York.

In his wake, he unintentionally left people better than he found them. I never once in my life, not for a single minute, heard Matt talk about how much he did for people. This is because he did not do these things for self-enrichment; He did them because he altruistically found happiness in the betterment of others. It is no doubt that Matthew Benedict Saad is the prime example of what its means to be a good Person, a good friend, good brother, a good son, a good fiancé, and no doubt, one day given the chance, a spectacular father.

Often times in life, people talk about hitting the genetic lottery. Given the average height of the Saad family, I think it safe to cross that off the list. But when it comes to DNA, I struck gold. Matthew, you wanted nothing more than to be my big brother I looked up to in life. There is no way for you to know just how much I idolized and admired you. Growing up you and I were inseparable. Everything you did, I wanted to copy. If you had a red Gap sweatshirt, I wanted it in blue. If you told me cutting of the sleeves of that sweatshirt was cool because the Wu-Tang clan did it, I got the scissors. Whether it was sitting in the basement playing video games long after we were called up for dinner, having lightsaber duels, or just pretending our driveway was a racetrack for our scooters, every childhood memory I have is better simply because you were there to share them with. Not everyone is as fortunate as I am to be able to have such a loving older brother to share their childhood with. These precious moments are encapsulated eternally in my heart and continue to shape me into the man I am today.

At times you would go to insurmountable lengths just to demonstrate how much I meant to you. That was the thing about you, you always had to show me. Whether it was the amount you cared, or a “quick’ You tube video that was in your words, the “funniest thing ever” I always laughed because your idea of a quick video was 5 minutes long and was usually not that funny But looking back now, I would have watched everything single thing you wanted to show me and I would have watched it 100 times over. Fake laughs included, just to be able to share those moments with you again.

I will never forget the time in elementary school when I was being teased by a kid on the bus for my weight. I distinctly remember in that moment how utterly defenseless I felt. As we got off the bus, I turned around to see you had picked him up by his shirt, like you see in movies, and told him not mess with me. That was a defining moment in my relationship with you. If anyone was going to mess with me, it was you, and not some jackass on the bus. You continued to demonstrate this to me as we grew older, by constantly checking in on me, excavating insides jokes of the past, and creating new memories at every corner. 
It is with the highest honor that I call myself your brother and with the utmost pride and humility that I am able to call you my best friend.

The purpose of life is not to live forever, but to create something that will. Matt, your incredible soul and nature will be immortalized in our hearts and will continue to forever shape the way we live and the way we love. You were my guiding light that continued to shine on me even in the darkest days. You were a token example of how to love unconditionally and more importantly, you were the glue that held our family together. We will miss you more than words can describe or that tears can and show. We know that your passing is merely the absence of your physical presence, and that your spirit will continue to live on forever in our hearts and watch over us.

Rest in the sweetest peace my dear brother. I love you, Ben

A tribute by David Armstrong -

I'd like to first apologize to Matt for reading this eulogy on the Samsung phone he so staunchly

opposed me getting. There was no doubt in my mind that Ben would deliver the perfect eulogy for his brother, because he was so excited to celebrate Matt's life under different circumstances only a month

from now. We all were. Just like that toast, there were so many things I intended to share with

Matt, things I knew he knew but deserved to hear again. The irony there, is that Matt was the complete opposite.

We were two peas in a pod since birth and only grew closer through the years, and yet he'd still ask every so often, “you know you're my best friend right?” Not for his own validation, or to claim me from the best friend pool, but to make sure I knew I had a lifelong companion who would support me through anything. And I think that's why, despite wanting to write the perfect eulogy, there's nothing perfect about this. But I'm going to try to nail it on my first attempt, because "how Matt is that?"

I was trying to think of the right word to capture Matt, as if one word was even close to enough,

and I keep coming back to that intensity that permeated his life. But I don't think intensity is the

right word, because it was a passion. He was so passionate in everything he did. In addition to

the three major loves of his life (his Subaru, his mother, and his fiancee, in no particular order),

Matt would invest himself fully into whatever his current interest was. I once got a text from Matt that I needed to come over immediately. He'd been watching Phantom Gourmet that day and saw an episode on a cheesesteak restaurant up in Maynard, Massachusetts, which was a good hour and fifteen minute drive from Marshfield. He sold me on it instantly, as he was so good at doing, saying it was a whopping two pounds of beef and cheese for only 8 bucks. And it was on the phantom gourmet so it had to be good. When Matt got that look in his eye, he could've told me we were driving to New York to eat dog food and I'd still say let's do it. So sure enough, we get up there and they were some of the best

cheesesteaks we'd ever had, and they were so big we had to take them home for dinner too. I

think Matt would crack up at the idea that we finally got a chance to let 200 people know they

need to check out Willys Philly if you're ever in the area - which I guess to Matt means a two

hour radius.

Matt's passion for life was probably best embodied in his full-fledged commitment to parkour.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, that's the formal word for “did that kid just do a backflip

off that tree?” I sincerely believe that Matt spent more of his life in a cast than not, and to him

those were not obstacles, just reminders of his progress, if not minor inconveniences. For every

broken bone, he knew exactly how to land the trick on his next attempt, or at least how not to

next time. He met one of his best lifelong friends Davis through parkour, and much like the sport

itself, threw himself fully into being a mentor and older brother figure to him. Davis is now an

incredible parkour athlete, which I'm sure he'd agree came in large part from Matt's guidance

and constant demand to always push your limits. Of course it didn't always work that simply -

Matt made it look so easy. Too easy. Easy enough that his clumsier cousin sprained both

ankles on a backflip and was promptly fired by his own dad for missing work one summer morning.

To that end, Matt was also a ferocious worker. He worked for his uncle's fence company in the

wood shop as the company's most efficient panel maker, and yet he spent just as much time in

the boss’s office discussing where the company could improve, as if he graduated UNH with an

MBA and not a medical microbiology degree. His analytical mind and unshakeable confidence

in how right he was often led to ideas and suggestions that may not have always been qualified

but were always well-intentioned.

(How much Matthew loved Kristen was spoken by David spontaneously, with genuine sincerity and respect for their love of each other. It was beautiful and moving)

I could go on about all the stories and memories I've shared with my best friend and cousin, but

yesterday was very eye-opening to just how many people out there also hold such cherished

moments with Matt. Yesterday we spent six hours at Matt's wake meeting what was easily over a thousand people, each with their own unique stories of how Matt had touched their lives. Bringing people together was one of Matt's favorite things, so I know it would have brought him great joy to know there was an hour and a half wait worth of people lined up to see him and celebrate his life.

He was always trying to push the envelope and break records while he was with us, and even in

death he had to make a big show.

Its nearly impossible to keep track of the cumulative love that follows you in life, of all the people you've made an impact on, whether you know it or not. There's no way one person could know just how deeply and widely he was loved, but our families all take great comfort in finding out on his behalf.

There is no rhyme or reason to why he was taken from us so prematurely, so I'd like to take his

death as just another lesson of his, that life is short and can change in an instant. So for Matt's

sake, hold your families and your friends close, and never miss an opportunity to tell them how

much you love them. On behalf of Matt, I love you all for being here. I love you Matt.