Matthew A. Domeier

A Public Funeral Service for Matt will be held on Wednesday, February 17, 2021 at Grace Lutheran Church in Geneva, Nebraska with Pastor Nicholas Mount presiding. A Public Visitation will be held on Tuesday, February 16, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. with family present from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Farmer & Son Funeral Home in Geneva, Nebraska. A Private Family Graveside Service will follow the funeral service at the Grafton Public Cemetery in Grafton, Nebraska. A Livestream Video of the service will begin at 10:30 a.m. To view the Livestream Video you can go to Farmer & Son Funeral Home's Facebook Page or in your search engine type @friendlyfuneraldirectors and click the link to Farmer & Son or click this link https://www.facebook.com/friendlyfuneraldirectors/Funeral and it should direct you to our Facebook Page. Memorials are to be directed to the family to be designated at a later date. Masks will be required at the funeral service for Matt. Matthew Alan Domeier was born on November 26, 1982, in the Fillmore County Hospital to Rodney and Cherlyn (Knigge) Domeier. He was the “baby” in a family of three and came into this world as unexpectedly as he left it. Matt was baptized at Grace Lutheran Church in a private ceremony so that his sister and brother could be present. His baptism was confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in Grafton. He passed away on February 11, 2021, in the farm home near Sutton. Matt or “Mavis” as he was often called, attended Geneva Elementary School, Grace Lutheran School, Geneva High School, and graduated with the first graduating class at Fillmore Central High School in 2001. His passion was not athletics, but he did run cross-country and participated in track, especially liking pole vaulting. His favorite group sport, which took much “athletic” concentration, footwork, and prowess was the marching band where he played the trombone taking pride in being a part of many successful marching seasons. He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Horticulture and Landscape design. He enjoyed designing websites, and believed there were so many things that were better done on a computer. One challenge for him were two classes where you had to identify all of the various plants on East Campus using both the common and scientific names, as well as their characteristics, growing environment, and other pertinent data. All this done with the professor and class walking around the campus – no textbooks. This wasn’t his learning style, so he developed for himself an on-line study guide, complete with pictures and data, which he then shared with his classmates. When his professor saw how professionally and well this was done and how it made the learning better for all the students, it became a part of her curriculum for teaching both of those horticulture classes. He was awarded the UCARE student award for the website – Plant Images and Websites for Resident and Distance Learning. Always a humble guy, we were not aware of this accomplishment until the professor contacted us to share this information! He also did some odd jobs in Lincoln - removing mold from homes was one that intrigued him, but he always seemed to gravitate back to the farm to help wherever he could. One of his favorite things to do was go to the Domeier pastures at Alexandria and help Grandpa Domeier fix fence, walk thistles, or whatever else needed done. There was always a fishing break included and multiple pasture parties for family, college friends, and church family. He always said he didn’t think he was very good at landscaping, but when he came back to the farm, he planted trees, shrubs, and many beautiful flowers which added to the enjoyment of time spent outside. His rather large gardens were both good and bad. After one year with over 150 quarts and pints of tomatoes canned, and even more frozen and given away, we suggested that perhaps the garden was a little too large! One year he had so many zucchini, squash, pumpkins, and other vegetables that staff at Heritage Crossings ate the fruit of his labor over the summer and fall and residents enjoyed the many pumpkins and gourds that decorated areas around the facility. He loved giving tours of his garden always offering tips and advice on growing plants. Matt was always a very gentle, quiet, introverted guy, who did not like big groups or large family gatherings, so he often avoided them. He was always in for a family vacation to Colorado with Estes Park being our favorite destination, but he also spent time visiting gardens in Omaha and Lincoln, taking pictures of plants for his collection and sharing the scientific name and characteristics with us. He enjoyed talking about plants. After the “Sutton fire”, even after being told to leave, Matt (and his Dad) stayed on the farmstead to try and protect what they could. He used the hose to spray down the house and hay bales near the house. He “sat it out” in a tractor, ready to leave if needed. He experienced significant trauma from this event. As in Romans 8, “…in all things God works for the good…,” when we began replacing the buildings that burned, a garage was put up with his own apartment within it, so that he could stay on the farm, a safe place to maintain his independence and privacy. He was only a phone call and six steps away from the house and he had become our “go to” person for whatever we needed. He never missed a meal with our little family of four and “Scout” – our little dog. He loved his nieces and nephew dearly and became especially close to Abbey. She voiced, “Grandma, he always had my back”, as he daily took her under his wing becoming a rock in her life. He was an integral part of all of our lives and we already miss his frequent checks on us throughout the day. He loved the simple things in life and always found beauty through his pictures of everyday life on the farm. In tradition with his love of horticulture, he was a flower that has been blooming here on the farm. Now that flower is blooming brightly in Heaven where he has been made perfect in Christ’s forgiveness, redemption, and love. He is survived by his parents, Rod and Cherie; sister Kimberly Parten and her daughter, Abigail; brother Tim (Nicole) and their children, Bella, Amelia, and Oliver and a host of aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Tributes

Matthew A. Domeier

November 26, 1982 - February 11, 2021