Matthew "Mattie" Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek (
July 17,
1990 –
June 22,
2004) was an
American poet and
advocate. At the age of 3, Stepanek started to write poetry to cope with the death of his older brother. His first five books are:
Heartsongs,
Journey Through Heartsongs,
Hope Through Heartsongs,
Celebrate Through Heartsongs and
Loving Through Heartsongs. All five works made the
New York Times' Best Seller list. He wrote that a 'Heartsong' is a person's special gift to be shared with others... or a person's 'reason for being.'
Stepanek wanted to be remembered as "a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played." His mother fulfilled her promise to Mattie and edited one last collection of poetry, entitled
Reflections of a Peacemaker, another
NY Times bestseller. His final book, a collection of essays and e-mail correspondence with Former President Jimmy Carter also became a NY Times bestseller, and was awarded a Gold Medal in the IPPY Outstanding Book of the Year 'Peacemaker' category in 2007.
Children's Peace Pavilion offers a membership program called Peace Champions inspired by his work.
Stepanek had a rare form of
muscular dystrophy,
dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy. His sister and two brothers died from the disease, and his mother has the adult form, diagnosed only after her children were born.
In
2002, Stepanek became the
Muscular Dystrophy Association National Goodwill Ambassador, due to his national high profile because of his poetry and related appearances on
The Oprah Winfrey Show,
Larry King Live, and
Good Morning America. Stepanek died at
Children's National Medical Center in
Washington, D.C., on Tuesday,
June 22,
2004.
Stepanek's funeral was held on
June 28, 2004, at St. Catherine Laboure
Roman Catholic Church in
Wheaton, Maryland. Nearly 1,350 people attended, including
Oprah Winfrey and country singer
Billy Gilman. A
eulogy was delivered by former President Jimmy Carter, who said, "We have known kings and queens, and we've known presidents and prime ministers, but the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known in my life is Mattie Stepanek. His life philosophy was 'Remember to play after every storm!' and his motto was: "Think Gently, Speak Gently, Live Gently.
Madison Cross, the daughter of singer-songwriter
Christopher Cross, a good friend of Stepanek, wrote and recorded a song dedicated to him entitled "He Was Just Like Me" in
2005.
External links Retrieved from "
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mattie_Stepanek"