Matthew Carl "Matt" Atnip

Matthew Carl “Matt” Atnip, 66, passed from this life on September 15, 2026. He was born in Florissant, Missouri and lived most recently in Valles Mines, Missouri.

Matt was a man with a big heart, a big tent, big opinions and a huge capacity for life. He was proud and protective of his family and wanted to be involved in anything they were doing. Matt made friends in an instant but kept them always, and he was ever ready to help with any project.

Matt was an outdoorsman who loved building trails, cutting trees as a certified sawyer, hiking, canoeing, playing disc golf and simply being in nature. The Missouri hills were his natural environment, and he also loved riding his motorcycle through them. As in everything he did, he tried to improve his riding skills with every trip. Travel to the Southwest was a favorite trip for him, especially the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico, with a chance to hike and explore.

As a true craftsman, Matt created beauty through wood carving, leatherwork and in anything he did at home from landscaping to laying tile.

Matt worked for more than thirty-five years in the life insurance industry in both claims and information technology, retiring in April 2026. He also spent many years working with the non-profit Ozark Trail Association.

While Matt’s time was much briefer than it should have been, he lived fully in the years he was granted with a hearty laugh, a mischievous grin and warmth enough to light up the world. Until we can be together again, we’ll remember the loving husband, dear father, loyal brother and wonderful friend Matt was. The legacy of love he left us will live on.

Matt is survived by his wife of 43 years, Kathy (née Brubaker); children Emily (Ryn) Majors, Brian Atnip, and Erica (Tristan) Wentworth; sisters Jane (Tim) White and Leanna Levine; 14 nieces and nephews and 10 great-nieces and -nephews, along with many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Daniel Kenneth Atnip and Lois Marie Atnip (née Markwardt).

Matt’s celebration of life with visitation will take place on Sunday, September 27, 2026, from 11 a.m-2 p.m. at C.Z. Boyer & Son Funeral Home, 313 Benham Street, Bonne Terre, Missouri. Procession to Peaceful Ridge Cemetery in DeSoto, Missouri to follow.

Arrangements are under the direction of C. Z. Boyer & Son Funeral Home in Bonne Terre.