Matthew Lee Van Dusen

Matthew Lee Van Dusen, 30, was born on March 11, 1987, at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colorado. He attended Carl Sandburg Elementary, Isaac Newton Middle School, and Arapahoe High School, all part of the Littleton Public Schools system. He graduated from Arapahoe in 2005 and studied Computer Network Security at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton. He grew up in Centennial, Colorado, and spent many happy summer weekends at the family mountain escape near Como, Colorado. His first job was Star Bucks barista at a neighborhood Target store. He worked two years as desktop support at Trust Company of America in Centennial before becoming Covert Agent #19488 at Best Buy’s Geek Squad (the crew that finds and fixes the bugs in your electronics). He advanced through the ranks there, beginning as a Fulfillment Agent where his job was to (in his words from his Facebook page), “fix ALL THE THINGS.” Within three months, his job was Core Agent, where there was more to the job, “Not only do I fix ALL THE THINGS, but I also talk to the clients.” When he worked nights as a Core Overnight Agent, he continued to fix all the things. He said that on that job, he could “be mistaken for a vampire, zombie, or other such night-dwelling creature!” Geek Squad has a Summer Training Academy, where Matt was a Field Lieutenant from 2009 to 2016, teaching children about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). During his years on the Geek Squad, he developed lasting friendships with fellow Covert Agents. In November 2016 he began working as a Service Desk Analyst for the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology, a job he dearly loved. Matt’s career was just taking off when his life was cut short from a brief but severe illness on January 31, 2018. He was 30 years, 10 months, and 20 days old. He was preceded in death by grandfathers Elmer King and Don Van Dusen, and Cousin Isaac Mendes. He is survived by long-time girlfriend Liz Powney; parents Tom and Laura Van Dusen; brother Seth (Miranda) Van Dusen, grandmothers Dorothy King and Dorothy Van Dusen, aunts Susan Dyer, Vicki McPherson and Janice (Lon) Ayers, uncle Jim King; niece Gianna Van Dusen, nephews Connor and Colbin Van Dusen, and cousins Steve Dyer, Mindy (Chris) Luebbe, Amanda McPherson, Drew (Stephanie) Dyer, Andrea (Leo) Mendes, Erynn (Roger) Ramstad, Dave (Elise) Dyer, and Eric Dyer. A Memorial Service will be held in Matthew's honor, Thursday February 8, 2018, at 1:30PM Horan & McConaty Funeral Home (11150 E. Dartmouth Ave. Aurora, 80014). Followed by a Reception in the Horan & McConaty HeartLight Center. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to any programs that encourage children to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Mathematics education.