Matt Kirkman was a loving human being and
example of simple truths, whose leadership pushed himself and others to awaken. He was a
caring child of God, a son, a brother, cousin,
friend and colleague, who strove to find a
balance between life, fun, success and
significance. He had a spiritual peace about him
that permitted him to to say no in a loving
manner to people and projects that got him off
purpose. He was a person of high energy who
was able to see the positive in any event or
situation. No matter what happened he could
find a 'learning' or a message in it. Matt trusted
God's unconditional love and believed he was
truly the beloved. He valued integrity, his
actions were consistent with his words and he
was a mean, lean firefighting machine. He
loved the challenge and the thrill of being a firefighter
and looked toward a life long commitment to his
community. He is missed because wherever he went,
he made the world a better place by his being there.
I think about him everyday of my life. He has inspired me to persevere.

Chief John Buckman
German Township Fire Department
07/20/04