Naperville teen who died unexpectedly remembered as 'always happy'

Matt Skowronski's life was a happy one, filled with volleyball, basketball, sketching and drawing, a group of friends he called "the squad" and an ever-present smile.

The 16-year-old Naperville Central athlete kept his life packed with sports, family and friends until the end, when he died unexpectedly Saturday night, his father, Marc Skowronski, said.

"Even since he was born he was just always a happy person. Nothing ever brought him down," Skowronski said about his oldest child, born Matthew Joseph Skowronski on Oct. 30, 1998. "He just always lived every day and was always happy."

Matt had an enlarged aorta that was diagnosed when he was in sixth grade, and it was this heart defect that ended his life Saturday night, his father said.

Matt's basketball and volleyball coaches at Naperville Central High School, where he just finished his sophomore year, knew about the heart defect. But with visits to a cardiologist twice or three times a year and medicine Matt took twice a day, it never prevented him from playing the games he loved.

"We barely had any hiccups," said his father, a firefighter/paramedic.

Matt's family kept his heart condition private because their son didn't want to be treated as different. At 6 feet 9 inches tall as a 16-year-old, Matt always had towered over his peers, and that could be difficult for him at times, his father said.

His younger sisters, Stefene, 15, and Katlyn, 11, saw their big brother as a role model.

"More than anything, the girls just looked up to him," Skowronski said. "They just thought he was a hero."

Matt quickly made friends among his teammates because he was "cheerful" with a "great personality," his varsity volleyball coach, Roger Strausberger, said.

Matt wore No. 15 on the Redhawks volleyball team and he was a respected and well-liked member, even as an underclassman, Strausberger said.

On the school's basketball team, Matt wore No. 54 and played on varsity for about a month this season while others were injured before returning to play with the sophomores. Matt played with a "loose" and "happy-go-lucky" attitude that made it evident he was loving every moment, varsity coach Pete Kramer said.

"We consider him a family member in the basketball program," Kramer said.

Matt was close with Kramer's son, Nick, who also just finished his sophomore year at Central. The team is feeling the hole left by Matt's passing as summer league games, camps and shootarounds continue.

"Sometimes somebody will leave a chair open and that will be Matt sitting there," Kramer said.

The volleyball and basketball teams both are planning ways to remember Matt and coaches are encouraging players to support each other through this time of loss.

Despite Matt's heart condition, he wasn't sick until his last day. Skowronski said his son didn't feel well Saturday morning, so Matt's mother, Kelly Skowronski, took him to his cardiologist at Advocate Christ Medical Center.

The cardiologist said Matt's aorta had enlarged slightly more than before, but that was to be expected. Matt underwent numerous tests, but after eight hours, doctors sent him home.

Skowronski said Matt had two friends over Saturday night to watch the Blackhawks in the opener of the Stanley Cup Finals. At one point, Matt got up to grab a pop from the fridge, and his friends saw him collapse.

"At least he was home and we got to be with him in the last half-hour," his father said. "We were able to be there for him."

Matt's funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Margaret Mary Parish, 1450 Green Trails Drive, Naperville. His family is considering establishing a memorial fund through his school, but Skowronski said details have not yet been finalized.

"He lived every day to the fullest and with a gigantic smile on his face," Skowronski said. "He just lived, every day."