Matthew St. John Kirkland Christian: Archeologist. History enthusiast. Cyclist. Dad. Born Sept. 9, 1972, in Moncton; died Oct. 19.,. 2024, in Hamilton, from multiple blood clots; aged 52.
Matthew Christian.Courtesy of family
There is a photo of Matthew that the family loves. It shows him powering up a steep hill on his bike in Siena, other riders in his wake. He was competing in the amateur version of the Strade Bianche, a famous Italian one-day race. It had been a dream. In spite of jet lag and a rented bike, he finished in the top quarter of riders.
Matthew loved cycling but his passion was archeology. As a young child in Sackville, N.B., he dug holes, put an object in, then excavated it. When the family moved to Guelph, Ont., he regularly presented science fair projects on the topic. At 16, he took a term off school to volunteer at the Museum of London, where he catalogued Roman pottery. With the money he earned, he bought a 19th-century cavalry sword.
He received his BA from the University of Toronto (Trinity) and took an MA in archeology at the University of York. After graduation, he volunteered for a dig in Jordan, where the yellow scorpions were a bigger threat than the intense heat.
Matthew worked as a freelance archaeologist for a few years, but career opportunities were limited. In high school, he had edited both the yearbook and literary magazine so decided to try publishing. Pearson (Canada), an international publisher of textbooks, hired him as a copy editor. When he left, he was head of sales and marketing. He had just accepted a new job applying AI to higher education when he died.
Matthew was a member of the Guelph Cycling Club. Ontario’s Paris to Ancaster annual race was his favourite. It paid homage to the classic Paris-Roubaix event, which took place on cobblestone roads, often made treacherous by rain. The Canadian version mimicked this over farm lanes, trails and gravel roads. If it didn’t rain, Matthew felt he had missed the real experience. He was committed to the sport and if you wanted to know the results of the Tour de Turkiye or Milan-San Remo, you only needed to ask.
He used a road bike but when he wanted an off-road bike, he built it from scratch with the help of a friend.
Matthew Christian leads the way during a bike race through Siena, Italy.Courtesy of family
Matthew’s two children were born in Toronto. He was devoted to them and thought nothing of getting up at five to take his daughter (and her horse, Elo) to a riding competition. He was proud to see her compete at the provincial level, and later for the Dalhousie equestrian team.
He drove his son to fencing lessons, introduced him to competitive cycling at the Winspace Criterium and, most fun of all, they played Dungeons and Dragons, a game that consumed his own youth. Recently, father and son visited Guatemala, where they climbed an active volcano and watched the sun rise from the top of a Mayan pyramid.
One of Matthew’s quirks, for which he was inexplicably proud, was rarely returning things he borrowed, especially books and tools. “You know you’ll probably never see this again,” he’d say with a grin.
A lover of ancient history, the Anglo-Saxon period was his favourite. He was especially interested in the project to build a replica of the seventh-century Sutton Hoo burial ship in Suffolk, U.K. He volunteered to help raise funds for the effort, and as a memorial, one of the ship’s oars will be engraved with his name.
At suppertime in early October, his mother received a text. “I’m not feeling well. Can you come and sit with me.” His family rushed over, and called 911.
He was taken to hospital and wasn’t expected to last a day, but he amazed the doctors by living for two weeks. He died surrounded by those he loved.
The Guelph Cycling Club created an annual award in his memory. It will be given to a young rider who displays Matthew’s qualities of “a positive attitude, camaraderie and support for other team members.”
His son has been promised one of his father’s bikes and Matthew’s brother, Adam, the other. Matthew’s daughter continues to prefer horses.
William Christian is Matthew Christian’s father.
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