A Boy’s Farewell

A young cancer patient hated sad goodbyes, so his parents honored his final wishes with a life-affirming obituary—followed by a bouncy-house funeral

In September 2017, four-year-old Garrett Michael Matthias was diagnosed with a rare cancer. For ten months, he endured brutal chemotherapy and radiation for embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, but he never lost his sense of humor. People who said goodbye to him with “See you later, alligator” were often taken aback by Garrett’s standard response: “See ya later, suckas!” When his parents, Ryan and Emilie Matthias, found out

he was terminal, they started writing down his thoughts on life and death. Garrett died on July 6, 2018. Five days later, the Des Moines Register ran the family’s unusual paid obituary, which was written almost entirely in Garrett’s own words and is featured here. Garrett did have a Viking funeral, complete with snow cones and bouncy houses. His story has inspired a children’s book called Dirty, Stupid, Cancer!