Matt Kerr

Matt Kerr, age 37, of Clear Lake, exited this realm in search of peace and entered the next great adventure on Sept. 24, 2018.

A celebration of life is planned for Sunday, Oct. 14, at the VFW, in Clear Lake, from 1-4 p.m.  where friends are invited to share memories of Matt.

For his family and friends in California, a second memorial will be held on Monday, Oct. 22, at The Oaks Tavern, from 4-7 p.m.

Matt was born in Baldwin Park, Calif. on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1981.  He lived most of his life in California before moving to Clear Lake in October 2017.  After college he worked for 10 years with Time Warner Cable, in Los Angeles.  Upon moving to Iowa, he was the talented bartender at the Fieldhouse restaurant.

Matt married Jessica Allen on Oct. 17, 2015, in San Marcos, Calif. after a long courtship.  Matt and Jessica were truly the loves of each other’s lives and treasured every minute they had together.

He loved music and nothing delighted him more than listening to Freddie Mercury and Queen, David Byrne, Lou Reed, Childish Gambino, Iggy Pop and Kendrick Lamar.  Matt had immense musical talent as a guitarist and songwriter, playing in numerous bands and solo projects and entertaining family and friends at various venues in Southern California.  He also loved karaoke and listening to music.  He had a long list of bands that he counted as musical influences.

He enjoyed reading, writing, movies and comedy, but considered Charles Bukowski his favorite author, and counted Highlander, Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Nic Cage movies among his favorites.  Matt had an uncanny ability to keep up with current events and know “the next big thing” that was happening in entertainment.  Couple that with his ability to connect with people of all walks of life and his aptitude to make people laugh, and it was only natural that Matt performed standup comedy to the delight of family and friends in California.

He supported causes related to animal shelters, women’s rights, The Trevor Project, LGBTQ rights and basic human decency.  Matt was never happier than walking his cat, Bubs, watching the Minnesota Vikings, joining friends at Funky Friday’s at The Oaks in Sherman Oaks, Calif., enjoying great food, like cheeseballs and the Northwestern Steakhouse, but he especially loved being with Jessica.

Matt was a fantastic friend and child of the night.  He enjoyed a bar to meet up with friends and to make new ones.  He enjoyed great conversation, listening, telling jokes, but most importantly making others feel special and putting their feelings before his garnered him a great number of loved and cherished friends.  Whether you met Matt at work, on the street, at The Oaks or at Rookies, a friendship developed over time and you had an impact on Matt and he had an impact on you.

Matt’s favorite, most loved, and treasured person in the universe was Jessica.  What started as a friendship between two people who shared similar interests in a variety of different “nerdy” topics including Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Batman and DC comics, a love of David Bowie and glam rock, and Los Angeles beer, food, and nightlife soon blossomed into a very deep romance.  Through the development of their relationship, Matt and Jessica were known to be so in touch with each other’s thoughts they often joked that they “shared one brain.”  Matt and Jessica complemented each other, supported each other, and truly loved each other including their flaws.

He suffered from bouts of depression and despite many loving friends and support from his wife, he was troubled by thoughts that only told him “you’re not good enough, nobody loves you, they are better off without you and you need to end your life” on even his happiest of days.  It didn’t matter how wrong these thoughts were or how supportive his friend base was, they always had an audience in Matt’s head.  He succumbed to these unfortunate and incredibly inaccurate thoughts and chose a search for peace of his own volition.

Matt is survived by his wife, Jessica; cat, Bubs; mother, Jeanett; brothers, Ian and Travis; parents-in-law, Jay and Trish Allen; brother and sister-in-law, Nic and Diana Dial; along with many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, Clear Lake, was in charge of arrangements.