Matthew Marshall Cooperrider, 39, passed on to be at peace with God after a courageous struggle with OCD and depression. A radiant and ever-inspiring soul, Matthew’s smile could light up the world, and when in his presence, one could feel the light and love of the universe shining upon, with, in, and through all things.

Matthew was born in Cleveland, Ohio on September 18, 1986 to David and Nancy Cooperrider. His childhood saw him held in the love of family and nature, and with his siblings Daniel and Hannah, they could often be found exploring and tousling in the woods, rivers, lakes and fields of Northeast Ohio and “up north” in Wisconsin at the family’s “Sleepy Lagoon” cabin where Matt delighted in searching for frogs and turtles, fishing, camping, night-swimming, stargazing, canoeing his favorite rivers the Namekagon and the Brule, cliff-diving in the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior, and playing night-games like kick-the-can with his beloved cousins and second cousins, and aunts and uncles, while loons wailed and owls hooted in the moonlight.

In Ohio during the school year, Matt was a gifted student, athlete, artist, friend to many, and class leader. The wild love of nature continued to evolve and express itself through his many friend/sibling/cousin adventures in rock climbing, kayaking, backpacking, fly fishing, hunting, organic farming (“WWOOFing” in New Zealand and British Columbia), and landscape and wildlife painting. He loved traveling and seeing the world—and not just seeing it, but tasting it, hearing it, feeling it, and knowing it by immediate experience and encounter. More than a spectator, Matthew was a participant with life and a lover of its human and other-than-human forms of aliveness.

This love of life’s vibrancy and beauty, together with feeling the climate grief of bearing witness to our era of climate crisis and ecological unraveling, led him to study Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Studies, and Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, where he received the “Henry David Thoreau Outstanding Senior in Environmental Studies” award. For Matthew, career action became an antidote to ecological despair and a way to express his big heart and innovative, capacious spirit. After receiving his “Masters of Science and Environmental Studies” degree from Yale Forestry School, Matthew worked for Apex Clean Energy in Charlottesville, Virginia.

At Apex, Matt drew upon his leadership, inter-personal gifts, and big-picture thinking to help design and implement many large-scale wind energy projects across the country. He soon rose to “Vice President” and became “Head of Corporate Strategy and New Markets.” During his time at the company, Apex emerged as one of the most significant builders of renewable energy infrastructure in the US. With 12+ gigawatts (GW) of clean energy built, Apex Clean Energy is on pace to displace 800 million tons of CO2, enough to power the annual energy needs of over 100 million households.

Matt cherished his friendships made in Virginia. He loved hiking and exploring the foothills and streams of the Blue Ridge Mountains, as well as bringing a favorite book—say, of Mary Oliver’s poetry or some great tome of 19th-century literature—and visiting a local winery on a night of live music.

Matthew’s lifelong learning passions were varied and many, giving testimony to his capacious curiosity and wonder at the universe. On any given occasion, Matthew could surprise you with a conversation on geology, cosmology, anthropology, ecology, philosophy, Russian and English literature and the history of literature in general, Christian theology, Hinduism and Buddhism, economics, oysters, the latest indie music or traditional Celtic music, German beer or where the best coffee or pie in town was, poetry, sports, or invite you for an impromptu grill feast for a steak lunch.

Even when Matthew struggled with mental illness, he always maintained his innate and genuine kindness, compassion, and loving, gentle spirit. When in his glory he was fully alive with the wildness of existence and fully himself, and being in his presence helped others come into their aliveness, wildness, and essence. As one of his longtime friends wrote after learning of Matt’s passing: “One thing I know for certain is the sheer volume of positivity Matt placed on people. It was never about him, it was always about others. Whether it was his genius, his energy, or smile that lights up a room, he made people’s lives better in his presence.”

Matt’s love lives on in all those who knew him and loved him. Matthew is survived by parents David and Nancy Cooperrider; sibling Daniel Cooperrider (with Julia Burkey and children Reverie and Kindred), sibling Hannah Lyons (with Johnny Lyons and children Hugo and Uma), grandmother Fran Cooperrider, along with many aunts and uncles, cousins and second cousins.

The family will host a family-and-close-friends celebration of Matthew’s life on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 in Spooner, Wisconsin, with a graveside memorial service at 10am at the Spooner Cemetery, and a lakeside potluck and time of remembrance–at the family property on Spooner Lake starting at 3:30pm. Contact hlclyons@gmail.com with questions re: memorial service.

Gifts in honor of Matthew’s life and legacy can be made to: Courage to Caregivers, which has been a support for our family; Yellow River Protection Conservancy, in celebration of the watershed that supports the ecological beauty and flourishing of the Spooner, WI area; and to Flicker Wild Church, an outdoor, nature-honoring spiritual community that Matt’s brother and sister-in-law lead and that Matthew supported and participated in in the last weeks of his life.

We love you Matt - forever and for always

Please share your memories of Matt by posting here in the guestbook.