Matthew William Roberts, 38, of Mount Vernon, Washington entered Valhalla on Friday, August 16, 2024, after a fierce battle with cancer.  Matt was born on October 5, 1985, to Bill and Kathy Roberts in Mount Vernon.  He was married to Kaila Bilger on September 8, 2012.

Although Matt began his life in Mount Vernon, most of his memories and friends came from growing up at his ancestral home in Day Creek.  Matt found his best friends, Marshall Lance and Jake Lind, on the school bus.  Those friends stayed close throughout his life, enjoying their shared love of video games, Kathy and Bill’s baked treats, epic storytelling, Magic the Gathering, and each other’s company.  As a youth, Matt could be found living some of his most cherished moments, relaxing with his mom, Kathy, and dog, Cody, in the creek.

During his time at Sedro-Woolley High School, he found a space to showcase his unique talent for writing, speaking and art in his newspaper and debate classes.  Matt picked up the drumsticks and became the captain the SS Typhoon (his drumkit).  He loved being a part of a band and carried the beat inside of him.  Matthew graduated from Sedro-Woolley High School in 2004.

After high school, Matt worked at the AMC Theater in Burlington and went to Skagit Valley College where he found and gathered more kindred spirits, friends and bandmates.  In January of 2005, Matt lost his half-brother, Zach, to substance abuse.  In May of 2005, his world was shaken to its core when he lost his mother, Kathy, to esophageal cancer.

October of 2005 Matt found Kaila, and they were always together after that.  He moved in with her and her sister, Jamie, in Bellingham.  They all moved to Lynnwood for a short while before Matt and Kaila moved to Lake City where Matt worked a variety of jobs.

In 2008, Gramma Gwen passed away.  She had lived in a house in Mount Vernon that was built by Grampa Roberts.  Matt and Kaila were invited to move into the family home by Matt’s dad, Bill.  Matt worked at Janicki Industries for a time, bonding with co-workers over tunes that sailed higher than the shriek of the machines and full-safety gear pantomime comedy.

Matt and Kaila got married in 2012, which Matt often described as the best day of his life.  It combined the things Matt loved most: loud music, joyous friends and family, copious amounts of food and drink and his wife, teammate and best friend, Kaila, at his side.

Matt became a proud father in 2014 to his first daughter and spittin’ image, Brynja.  Matt took work at a car dealership in Bellingham, then found that pizza delivery was a better fit.  Domino’s became Matt’s way to proudly “Feed the People” of Mount Vernon while feeding his growing family.  Matt and Kaila celebrated the arrival of their daughter, Sorsha, into the Roberts Clan in 2016.

Matthew went back to school for manufacturing at Skagit Valley College.  He graduated in 2018 with an associate degree and many certifications under his belt.

Matthew began working for the Post Office where he lifted the unliftable: the morale of Post Office employees.  He delivered parcels and mail from Everett to Lynden, then began to fall ill from undiagnosed and untreated diabetes.  At the behest of friends, he found work with Puget Sound Energy.  There he was treated well and was training to meet his career goal when he became unwell.  This time, it was cancer.

The battle was intense.  When he was diagnosed, he was already facing stage four esophageal cancer.  Kaila became his full-time caretaker and staunch advocate.  Matthew fought so hard to stay with his family.  He battled for a year and a half; longer than any doctor expected.  Through chemotherapy, through the horrors of Stevens Johnson Syndrome, through exhaustion and excruciating pain, Matt held onto this world with incredible strength and grace.  His dedication to humor and diplomacy made his room refuge for many of the nurses during Matthew’s many hospital stays.

Matt believed in Love and Loyalty.  He believed in the power of the support class; he believed in the Game Squad and that a good time and good vibe is more important than winning.  He believed in sharing his deep love of music, his enthusiasm for food, his brilliant comedic mind and his tidy selection of Magic decks and couch co-op video games with family and chosen family.

He lived and experienced and enjoyed life and the Legend of Matt Roberts will never be forgotten.

Matthew is survived by his wife, Kaila Roberts; daughters, Brynja and Sorsha Roberts in the family home in Mount Vernon; father, William (Bill) Roberts and stepmother, Cindie Roberts of Day Creek; mother-in-law, Laura Bilger of Mount Vernon; sister-in-law, Jamie Bilger and brother-in-law, Chuck Messenger of Mount Vernon; stepbrothers, JD Reiley and Roy Crowe; stepsister, Sallie Molengraaf; niece and nephew, Jayme and Michael Marshall of Big Lake; numerous other nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Kathryn (Kathy) Roberts of Day Creek; half-sister, Sally Hallmark Dowdle of Big Lake; half-brother, Zach Haley of Day Creek; aunt, Linda Sievert of Mount Vernon; grandmother and grandfather, Gwenivere and Bill Roberts of Mount Vernon; grandmother and grandfather-in-law, Bertha and Ira Davey, aunt, Cookie Rua; uncles, Leland and Mel Smith of California; grandfather, Frank Smith; great grandfather, Frank Maddox of Day Creek; father-in-law, Brian Bilger of Lake Stevens.

A Funeral Service will be held at Lemley Chapel Friday, September 6, 2024 at 11am, followed by interment at Union Cemetery in Sedro-Woolley.  Gathering and food at UFCW 3000, 1510 N. 18^th St., Mount Vernon, WA, Mount Vernon beginning at 1pm.

Group or individual viewing Wednesday and Thursday, September 4th and 5th from 2-5pm at Lemley Chapel.  There you can write in the Legend of Matt Roberts memorial guest book.

Share your memories of Matt and sign the online guest register.