Matthew James Koker

On April 3, 2022, we lost Matt Koker, our beloved father, husband and son, too soon. Born March 16, 1971 to Diane and Robert (Pete) Koker. He spent much of his childhood here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and was raised by Pete and Virginia Koker alongside his siblings John, Lori and Kelli. Soon after high school, he joined the U.S. Army in 1989, married the love of his life Sandra in 1990 and was deployed to Desert Storm to work with the Patriot Missile Defense System and his military brothers. Matt was a very private person on his own, reserved and humble, but for those that truly knew him, loved his charm and enthusiastic-about-everything personality. He was a loving and dedicated individual, intent on making sure his family was always happy. Matt was also a fantastic cook. He loved to barbecue on warm summer days or craft a delicious German schnitzel on cold winter ones. There were several pastimes he loved the most, his favorites of which were stargazing in fields, binge watching alien conspiracy documentaries and whisking away on spontaneous camping adventures. Music was also a great joy of his, despite being hilariously tone deaf, and much to the amusement of his family, would sing The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Pink Floyd tunes into his tv remote. Everyone will remember Matt differently. For Amanda, his youngest, it’ll forever be the days they drove to Cherry Point enjoying each other's company with the windows down in the ‘65 Mustang, blasting Queen from the speakers. For his oldest, Jessica, his incredible ability to spin tales around a campfire about One-Eyed Maggie Hag or the dreaded ChickenHeart. We encourage you to bring your own favorite stories of him to celebrate his life. Matt was witty, weird and wonderful. With a few words and a smiling face, he could effortlessly light up a room — and we’re all going to miss him dearly.