On Saturday, July 1st, 2023, Matthew unexpectedly passed away, peacefully in his sleep. He was born April 12, 1998, in Plainview, NY where he was raised until the age of 2. Matthew’s family then relocated to Virginia Beach where he lived for the remainder of his short life.

Matthew is survived by his parents LeAnne (Tariq) Saunders and Alan (Stasia) Canale, brothers Alan (Jessica) Canale Jr. and Christopher (Shalini) Canale. Also surviving are his loving grandmothers Florence Pueschel and Julia Poussaint, nephews Camden, Tyler, and Jackson Canale, nieces Shayla and Arya Canale and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was

preceded in death by his grandfathers Anthony Canale and Milt Pueschel.

Matt completed his high school education while attending Job Corps in TN. While there, he proudly earned a certificate in MIG/TIG welding. After returning to Virginia Beach, Matthew studied therapeutic massage & bodywork at Cayce/Reilly School of Massage and graduated in September 2019 with a 700 Hour Massage Therapy Diploma. While he never practiced his massage skills professionally, his professors, friends, and family will agree that he definitely had amazing skills and the ability to read a person’s body language, knowing how to massage and help relieve and heal pain. His real enjoyment was working on animals. He even provided therapeutic massages to a few animals, helping relieve pain and discomfort and providing a better quality of life. He worked a few jobs, one being Pizza Hut (which made his mom proud, following in her footsteps) but seemed to always go back to some type of construction work and spent the last few years working with his dad.

Matthew was a creative child who loved playing with Legos. He was the kid who, after building the design on the box, would rip it apart and create something even more amazing. He would spend hours working on his masterpieces as we tried to avoid stepping on those ridiculously small pieces!

Living in Virginia Beach, he became a beach baby. He appreciated nature and all its elements but really connected with water and its purifying, peaceful attributes. He spent as much time as he could at the beach…even as an adult.

After learning the meaning of his name, “gift from God”, he proudly shared the definition with everyone. He was a gentle soul who had a special connection with animals and children…they loved being around him and he treated them with great care and respect. This love for animals resulted in numerous pets; the most memorable are Smokey (dog), Willis (snake) and his kitties ChiChi and Kunai. They were all therapy for him and in return, gave him that unconditional love he was so longing for. That was definitely one of his many “gifts.” His empathetic heart for those he loved. He once posted “I love to laugh and share the love in my heart whether you take it or leave it.. comedy and kindness have always been what makes me..me”.

Music was definitely a form of therapy and escape for Matthew and he appreciated all genres. It would be just a normal day for him to start off with reggae then switch to some heavy metal then hip hop/rap then finish with Frank Sinatra. And he knew all the words to every one of the songs he played and sang out loud and with such passion.

When not listening to music, drawing or watching movies, Matthew was always researching, studying anything around the mind/brain, holistic care, animals and other civilizations and he became intrigued with how the Native Americans lived and how they respected each other, animals, nature and the earthly elements. This also led to his love for wolves and how they are so misunderstood (dangerous, yet loyal to family and mate for life). He related to the wolf because he struggled his whole life being misunderstood. Being the talented artist that he was and his passion for drawing what he loved, he drew a picture of a wolf paw print with the symbols of the elements then had it tattooed on his chest over his heart. He wore that tattoo proudly as it represented so many things he loved and appreciated. As a maturing young adult, he never really conformed to society’s expectations. He didn’t care what he looked like on the outside (what clothes he wore or his hair). Then, a few years ago, when he was diagnosed with some mental disorders, he really became aware of just how misunderstood he had been and probably would always be. There was a quote he found that expressed exactly how he felt: “the worst part of having a mental illness is.. people expect you to behave as if you don’t”. It seemed near to impossible to him to just be happy.. to love.. and to laugh (which was all he ever wanted). But yet he got up every morning and attempted to make the best out of his situation and in the end, he did laugh, make others laugh and feel loved and was loved back by many who could see through his tough exterior into that huge heart!

It was a privilege and blessing to call Matthew son and have him in our lives. We are comforted in knowing he has found peace in the arms of God who gifted him to us, and while his time on earth was brief, he was deeply loved and will be truly missed.

A Celebration of Life will be held in the church Matthew loved and grew up in on Saturday, August 12th at 11am EST at Calvary Assembly of God in Virginia Beach, followed by a luncheon. If you are in the area, please join us. For the family and friends that are not local, we will also be streaming the service live in both FB https://www.facebook.com/CalvaryAGVB?mibextid=LQQJ4d and YouTube https://youtube.com/@CalvaryAssemblyVB

and we invite you to just click on the appropriate link above to join us on that day to share in this special time together honoring Matthew.