Mathew Paul Brick, 58, of Mason City, passed away Friday, July 7, 2023 at MercyOne Medical Center-North Iowa. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM Saturday, July 15, 2023 at Epiphany Parish Holy Family Catholic Church with Rev. Neil Manternach officiating. Interment will follow in the Elmwood-St. Joseph Cemetery. Visitation will be held Friday, July 14, 2023 from 4 until 7 PM at Major Erickson Funeral Home, 111 North Pennsylvania Ave, Mason City. A Scripture wake service will begin at 6:30 PM. In lieu of flowers memorials are requested to the family to be used to purchase public benches in Mathew’s name.
Matt was born the fourth, and final child, to Don and Arlene (Teigen) Brick on October 6, 1964, in Owatonna, Minnesota, where the family owned a third generation funeral home and furniture store with Don’s brother, Bill. In 1970, the family moved to Austin, Minnesota, to open another furniture store. Matt attended Shaw Elementary in Austin, and graduated from Austin High School, furthering his education at the University of Wisconsin, in Eau Claire. He had looked forward to catching up with friends at each high school reunion, and had not missed a single one. Matt played a key role in opening a store in Albert Lea, Minnesota, with brother, John, in 1986. In 1992, Matt moved to Mason City, Iowa, to open his own store. In 1993, he met his wife, Tara (Dahl), and they were married at Holy Family Catholic Church on May 13, 2000, in Mason City. Their children, Scott, Travis, and Rylei, have been a large, driving part of the lives they have built with each other.
Matt loved being in the family business, and instilled in his family his philosophy that he got goosebumps of excitement every day that he was able to go into work. A ritual he continued, right up until the last business day before his passing. He, in fact, never missed a day of work. He was a wonderful conversationalist, and always had a “heck of a story for ya.” Gifted as an avid, talented woodworker, artist, and designer, Matt came well-equipped to tackle any remodeling, or other creative endeavors. From hand-built church pew replicas, solid oak cupboards, to later, several functional wooden bikes, and a wooden sink (crafted from discarded recliner bases,) Matt’s accomplishments never ceased to amaze those in the know. All corners of his home and business glimpse a bit of what he had to offer with the use of his hands. Truly, Matt had a real knack for seeing the big picture of any project attempted.
Matt’s health took a sudden downturn on July 7, 2023, due to complications from continued building of scar tissue following a dual craniotomy in November. He was gone within a few hours. For that, we are thankful he was spared a lingering, languished existence. Those final hours were comfortable, and he was not coherent, for the most part, and had many family members surrounding him. A few days prior, Matt had received a clean, stable health report relating to a Stage IV melanoma, with metastases cleared in his brain, and a spot on his lung had continued to show reduction. No primary was ever found on the surface, and likely Matt’s own immune system was able to initially keep the original growth from being detected during regular examination.
Matt is survived by his wife, Tara & children, Scott, Travis, and Rylei; mother, Arlene – Austin, MN; sister, Mary (Phil) Ralphs & their daughter, Megan – Las Vegas, NV; brother, John (Kari) Brick & their children, Erin, Paige, and Maxwell – Albert Lea, MN; sister-n-law, Nancy (widow of Steve) Brick & son, Gavin – Austin, MN; brothers-in-law, Mark Dahl, Brian (Penny) Dahl; sister-in-law, Tricia (Todd Neitzel) Neumann; and a “plethora” of Tara’s nieces and nephews, and their spouses, and great nieces and nephews.
Matt is preceded in death by his grandparents, Hans Theodor and Helen Rosemary (Paul) Teigen, and Frederick Marcellus and Catherine A (Nolan) Brick; father, Don; brother, Steve Brick; and brother-in-law, Troy Scott Dahl.
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