Matthew Franklin

Traverse City - Matthew (Matt) Charles Franklin, age 66, died on Thursday, October 17, 2024, surrounded by his loving family.

Matt was born in TC, July 23, 1958 to Jim and Mary Franklin. The oldest of 5 children, he was intelligent, creative, and mischievous. His quick witted nature kept his siblings on their toes. Known by his family as Matt-Chuck, Uncle Beetle, Captain Morgan, Meatfoam, or Captain of Chaos, he was a lifelong perpetrator of the jump-scare, a talent he shared with many family and friends. The orchestrator of shenanigans, Matt spent a lifetime leaving a trail of laughter and brevity in his wake.

A graduate of St. Francis (1976), a few lucky people might recall the talent show where Matt offered an impressive impersonation of Gene Simmons. Joining the USAF after graduating, he proudly served 8 years, stateside and abroad.

Matt had a lifelong love for 4-wheel drive trucks, NASCAR, music, hot sauce, and dogs the size of sofas. A local legend best known for his taste in eye-catching vehicles – notably his zebra print Jeep Wrangler named Naughty-Naughty – one might also remember his affinity for crop-tops, spandex, and long hair.

He was adept at language – specifically his own. Quick with banter, a joke or a story, Matt was incredibly artistic and clever. A wisecracking wordsmith, nothing was off limits. This was his love language and to be a recipient of his quirkiness was the ultimate compliment, something we will truly miss.

Matt will forever be remembered as the person responsible for many fictional terms, such as Barnlupa (meat pies), conkies (Imperial candies,) and clonchers (tongs). Much to the chagrin of his brothers-in-law, these are still commonly used.

His humor was dwarfed only by the love he had for his family. Those that knew him well understood that behind the laughs was a man who was loving, hardworking, creative, sensitive, and helpful. And while he didn’t always look forward to contributing with family projects, such as installing Dad’s dock, Matt always brought his colorful best. His loved ones will strive to keep his wild flare alive, although he’s set the bar impossibly high.

His wife, Kim, will be forever grateful to Matt for his love, generous nature, and unpredictable humor (examples of which are too numerous to list but do include scaring Kim with fishing line and stuffed ferrets and leaving his late dad’s dentures for the Sail Inn cleaning crew to discover.)

Left to remember Matt are his mother, Mary, wife, Kimberly, sons Nick & Patrick, grandson Axton, siblings Kitty (Barney) Ewing, Colleen (Bill) Wilson-Lihou, Tom Franklin, Meg (Jason) Franklin-Judd. As well as the Roth family and his many friends. Uncle Beetle will forever remain the favorite wild uncle to Josh, Jordan, Kyle, Bailey, Brynne, Hannah, Mars, Pilar, Jamisen, Jasper, Bodhi, Rowan, Fisher, and Liam.

Matt is preceded in death by his beloved father, Jim, stepmom Joyce, in-laws Karl and Joyce Roth.

Those interested in celebrating Matt with tales and laughter, please join us at Life Story Funeral Home on Saturday, October 26th from 12-2pm with military honors to conclude at 2pm.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Kimberly Roth-Franklin to help with expenses.

Please visit www.lifestorytc.com to share your thoughts and more.