Matthew Stanley

Matthew Travis Stanley, 28, of Mt. Zion, Illinois, Civil Engineer for the City of Decatur, passed away at 10:03 P.M., Monday, August 18, 2008, at Decatur Memorial Hospital. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 P.M. on Friday, August 22, at Brintlinger & Earl Funeral Home, Decatur, Illinois. Celebration of life services will be held at 10:00 A.M., Saturday, August 23, at Central Christian Church, Decatur, Illinois. Memorials may be made to the Lance Armstrong Foundation or Donors Choice.Travis was born on July 11, 1980, the son of David E. and Diane L. (Walker) Stanley. Travis graduated from MacArthur High School in 1998 and continued his education at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, earning his degree in 2002.In the spring of 2004, Travis was diagnosed with cancer. Following his diagnosis and time-consuming treatments, Travis refused to let cancer dictate how he would live. Travis maintained a positive and cheerful outlook on life, striving to become a more remarkable individual each day touching and inspiring all who knew him. Despite his challenges, Travis remained ambitious and in the spring 2008, successfully completed the state exam thereby fulfilling his goal of becoming a licensed professional engineer.Surviving are his parents of Sullivan, IL; brother M. Christian Stanley of Indianapolis, IN; grandparents Lorraine and Kenny Seitz of Boody, IL. He was preceded in death by his grandmother Mary Walker of Decatur.The family would like to thank the physicians, nurses , and staff of both 7 and 8 North of Saint Louis University Hospital and also a special thanks to Traviss work family at the City of Decatur. "
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