MATTHEW GERDISCH: IN MEMORIAM

A LIFE “WELL-LOVED” (MAY 19, 1999 - DECEMBER 14, 2019)

BY MARY O’MALLEY

Matthew was a student in my Sixth and Eighth Grade Language

Arts classes. He graced my front row with his effervescent

personality, insatiably curious nature, and reassuring smile. He

willingly shared his true unabridged self with his classmates

and his teachers. His love of life and learning manifested itself

during every aspect of his day. He never failed to genuinely chat

with me before or after class because he truly cared about my

day as well. I remember him politely explaining the difference

between a cardiologist and a heart surgeon during one of our

vocabulary lessons. He proceeded to talk so proudly of his

father, Dr. Gerdisch, a heart surgeon, sharing with us not only

his own knowledge of the field at such a young age but also his desire to study medicine and help others. “Matthew always talked about a career in science and

medicine. Each time he would visit my operating room,

he would have the most insightful questions, posed to me

with the predicate “Dad” followed by a new inquisition

into my last or next move, as my chest nearly burst

through my gown with pride. His path was cemented

though when Matthew was introduced to arrythmia

surgery,” explained Dr. Gerdisch. “He already had a

cursory knowledge of arrythmia, as he suffered from

inappropriate sinus tachycardia. Now, he was enamored of

the crossroads of physics, physiology and anatomy intrinsic in

electrophysiology, and its merger with surgery, a discipline for

which he knew himself to be well suited. Matthew found his

path in life, to be a physician treating heart rhythm disease.

It was not only the front row in a classroom where Matthew prospered.

His Northwestern Psychology professor once wrote, “Though it was

a very large class, I remember Matthew so clearly. He would sit in

the front row nodding along, eyes bright with enthusiasm. What I

remember most is how kind and positive he was.”

Matthew was the Asian Culture Club President at Brebeuf Jesuit High

School. He held a taekwondo black-belt and was a junior instructor for

Grandmaster Lee in Carmel as well as a member of the Tae Kwon Do

Club in college. He was at home deep in the ocean, scuba diving since

he was a small boy. His love for the sea began with Sycamore’s Sixth

Grade Sea Camp trip. He continued his adventures in Maui, Jamaica,

and Eleuthera, diving 30 feet deep. He went on to become PADI

(Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certified. “Matthew was confident at his practiced skills,” his father says. “It is why I never scuba dived without him. I trusted only Matthew to check my gear and

be with me in the ocean.”

As a SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and

Radio Artists) member, Matthew acted on television, on-stage, and doing

voice-overs. His first two jobs were as an infant for Greco, where he was a model on the cover of an infant carrier box and in a store ad for

Sesame Street clothing. He also performed at The Goodman Theater

and Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where he once acted alongside

actress Marsha Mason. Two of his latest jobs included a KFC

television commercial for a Super Bowl pre-game advertisement and a

voice-over radio spot for Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

When he was a child, his parents say they were constantly emptying

his pockets of miscellaneous items he had collected throughout the

day that would make their way into figures and imagined machines he would concoct, to repurpose them and make new inventions. Even

as a young adult, he enjoyed putting together LEGO constructions,

leaving one half-finished on his desk the day before he passed.

To say he knew no strangers is an understatement. “He saw the

good in people; he loved others’ perspectives on things and wanted

to help them especially emotionally,” His mother, Lori Ann, says

“He was optimistic, good natured, and very tolerant. There were no boundaries between him and other people. He had the wide eyes

of a child and the acceptance of a child, although he was a mature

young man with a heart of gold. He never left a friend behind,

unequivocally understanding their differences and reveling in blind

acceptance. He cultivated an unmatched diversity of friendships.

This past year, while a junior at Northwestern University, majoring in

physiology and minoring in Asian History, Matthew led a physics study

group; he tutored classmates simply because he enjoyed teaching. His

parents only found out about this after they received a note from a

member of the group (a stranger to them) named Maxwell, who sent

this note to the department dean in hopes it could be shared:

“I was always impressed with Matt’s level of insight into whatever

concept we were discussing; his questions always approached the

subject material from an angle I had never considered before. He

always went above and beyond the superficial, questioning the why when everyone else was concerned with the what. And he never just

kept this insight to himself, he was always so willing to share and

explain. These questions were answered with thought and empathy,

never judgment, and showed that he cared about my understanding

and learning, not simply just providing an answer. This is how Matt

will be remembered, as someone whose ever-present selflessness and genuine kindness helped others through whatever problems they had.”

Gerdisch maintained his friendships with several of his Sycamore

classmates; this was never more evident than at his funeral where

many members of the Class of 2013 came to support each other

and the Gerdisch family. One in particular, Nico Biogiani ‘13, was

Matthew’s best friend since 3rd Grade and his roommate during their

three years together at Northwestern. “Three things that stand out

were his insatiable curiosity, his humanity, and his unfailing empathy,”

Biogiani says. “There’s a lot to be said about the way he carried

himself. No matter who he was around he always acted the same way

with confidence and compassion. Whether he was going to class or returning from a 15 hour day, he would stop to have a conversation

with the person at the front desk of their apartment complex. His

positivity allowed him to see the best in people and any situation.”

Another Sycamore classmate, Sarah George ‘13, explained her

relationship with Matthew by quoting the eighth book of the

“THERE’S A LOT TO BE SAID FOR THE WAY HE CARRIED HIMSELF. HIS POSITIVITY ALLOWED HIM TO SEE THE BEST IN PEOPLE.”

Nicomachean Ethics: “ ‘There are three kinds of friends: utility friends,

pleasure friends, and goodness friends. The first two are accidental and, therefore, easily dissolved. The final is the kind that can last a lifetime.’ Matthew was a goodness friend—not just to me—but to many.”

No one, however, could capture his spirit as did his only brother

Robert (Sycamore Class of 2011): “Matthew and I are brothers.

Born from the same cells, in the same month, raised in the same

homes, shared clothes, meals, cars, bedrooms, video games, parents,

friends, jokes, interests, fears, anticipations, secrets, joys, sorrows.

We were experientially, biologically, and spiritually conjoined. We

marched together, tethered at the leg, through the first 16 years of our lives. The distance that separated us through the last four did

not weaken this connection, as Matthew’s insatiable appetite for

love kept us in constant contact.”

At age 14, Matthew was blessed to meet the love of his life, a girl,

Samantha, with whom he shared the same birthday. They had a

true bond for six years. “We shared our hearts and a life, and a life

to come,” he says.” His passion for us and for his life inspired me to

work just as hard in my life. All we wanted to do was work hard for

each other. It was out of the ordinary how our existences meshed

together. There was a natural magnetism from the day we met.”

Matthew finished every conversation with every family member, extended family member, and Samantha with “I love you.” He

would wish the same joyful communication to be shared by

everyone, known and unknown, to never miss the privilege to tell

someone they are loved. Matthew’s signature phrase was “I love

you all to infinity and beyond.”

Matthew was fascinated with the human heart, for his was as kind

and loving as anyone’s heart could be. Matthew died before he could

do the work swirling in his mind, before he could finish his LEGO construction, before he could spend the years he should have had

loving his friends and family. Although his dream of a career in the

study of the heart never came to fruition, he certainly touched all those

who ever knew him. It’s as if his heart knew he had to experience the

people, places, and adventures in the short time he had on this earth.

Read more about Matthew Gerdisch at sycamoreschool.org/gerdisch n