Major Matthew Charles Baugher, USMC, Ret. (Lebanon)'s Obituary
Matthew Charles Baugher, 54, died Monday, April 13, 2020, at his home in Lebanon, Missouri. Born in Keokuk, Iowa, on April 1, 1966, to Charles and Nancy Miller Baugher; Matthew loved God, his country and his family, and spent his life serving them all. He was a Marine warrior who fought in Operation Desert Storm during the first Gulf War and battled brain cancer for 22 years with courage and grace.
He married Lisa Sue Rosenboom in 1988, and together they built a life and home filled with love and raised their three children, Rebecca of Rogers, Arkansas; and Jacob and James of Lebanon, Missouri.
A product of Keokuk Community School District, KHS class of 1984, Matthew was active in sports and music throughout his school years. His summer musical career began in the fifth grade when he played Winthrop Paroo in “The Music Man” and continued through the role of Pseudolus in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” He swam and lifeguarded at the public pool, wrestled, and was a 150-pound center for the football Chiefs, serving as co-captain his senior year.
Matthew attended Iowa State University on an ROTC scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in history in 1988. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps on May 21, 1988, and rose to the rank of major. He was stationed in Quantico, Virginia; Okinawa, Japan; Twentynine Palms, California; and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He served as a communications officer and was deployed to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in Operation Desert Storm in 1990-91. He then served as the CO/Director of the Marine Corps Communication-Electronics School (MCCES). After being diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1998, he continued his military career until he was medically discharged on June 1, 2003.
Matthew, Lisa and their children moved to a 100-acre farm outside of Lebanon in 2003. As a member of First Baptist Church in Lebanon, he sang in the choir, served as a deacon, and participated in mission trips to India. He worked for DefBar Systems, an innovative armor company, and founded Critical Contingencies, a crisis preparedness business.
With a photographic memory and remarkable storytelling skills, he would entertain anyone within earshot by recounting with precise accuracy entire chapters from his favorite books (from the Bible to “The Lord of the Rings”), dialogue from television shows and movies (from “The Simpsons” to “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”), and battle movements (from the Civil War to present day). Even when the brain tumor took away his speech and mobility, he was still able to sing and remember the words to countless songs. His repertoire ranged from Fernando Ortega to Judas Priest, the Beatles to AC/DC, and John Denver to Metallica, plus his own original praise songs.
Love and loyalty are words Matthew embodied. He maintained close ties with a cadre of Marines, a host of J.R.R. Tolkien enthusiasts, a large family of brothers and sisters in Christ, grateful graduates of his firearms classes, and anyone he thought might need his help. Under his bravado, there was a kind and tender heart.
Matthew loved nothing more than to spend time with his family; walk, hunt and work on his land; talk and sing with family and friends over a glass of his homebrew; and watch the sun rise and set on his homestead he called The Ridge.
With faith as his compass, and without self-pity, Matthew beat the odds doctors gave him by nearly two decades. In what he knew were the final months of his life, with the formidable assistance of his wife, Lisa, he stood proudly at his younger son’s Civil Air Patrol ceremony, went scuba diving with his family in Cozumel, and took two of his sisters on a harrowing UTV ride through the rough terrain of The Ridge.
Matthew was always ready – to take on a challenge, to make a new friend, to have a good time, to do a good deed. He made a difference; he will be missed.
In addition to his parents, and wife and children, Matthew’s survivors include three sisters, Cynthia (Steve) Wine of Miami Lakes, Florida; Cassie Baugher of Sacramento, California; and Ellen (Rob) Day of Buffalo Grove, Illinois; nieces Grace and Erin Day; aunts Martha Kirchner, Jan Hickenbottom and Ann (Ed) Marley; and numerous cousins, in-laws and friends.
Memorial gifts in Matthew’s honor may be made to Folds of Honor at www.foldsofhonor.org. In lieu of flowers, contributions to a memorial
flowerbed to be located at Matthew’s home can be made through Garden Adventures Nursery at www.gardenadventuresnursery.com.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held Saturday, June 20 at 3 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Lebanon.
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