Matthew C. Dahlberg, 34

Matthew Coleman Dahlberg passed peacefully in his sleep on 28th June, 2026, at the age of 34, leaving what his family reckons was two-thirds of his promising future — another 60-plus years of charming children and cheering friends, co-workers and patients — to be fulfilled in God’s heavenly kingdom.  

As his parents, we are so proud of the young man that Matthew had grown to be — gentle, helpful, reassuring, gracious, empathetic, knowledgeable and professional in hospital scrubs.  

Bless Matt’s fierce advocacy for social justice; bless him for choosing to be a caregiver and bless his friendly, helpful interactions with so many people he encountered in the ER of West Shoshone Hospital. Bless Matt’s caring nature and gift for engaging in deeply personal, uplifting friendships.

We love you so deeply, Matthew. You did a good job, son!

Grandparents — Doctor Keith and Nurse Lois Coleman Dahlberg of Kellogg lived into their 90s. Swedish-American great-grandparent Edwin similarly lived into his 90s; as did maternal grandmother Foo Sye Fong. She was born in Hainan, China, before emigrating to Singapore as the wife of Ho Kweng John, also born in Hainan, China, before making his career as a merchant seaman. 

A proud son of Singapore, Matthew was also an American Citizen by birth and an intrepid traveler who lived in Palo Alto, Calif., as a toddler, crossing the Pacific Ocean a double-digit number of times by his early teens.

Matt was born in Singapore on a sunny morning on 23rd March 1992. He attended bilingual English and Mandarin schools in Singapore, from Henry Park Primary School through graduation from Anglo-Chinese Independent School, a Methodist-run school that included mandatory chapel attendance. 

A soldier and a Singapore Armed Forces Veteran, Matt completed two years as a National Serviceman, mustering out as a Lance Corporal, before attending university in Chicago at the age of 21 as an incoming freshman at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Beloved colleague of the Emergency Room at West Shoshone Hospital, while attending Nursing School classes at North Idaho College; Matthew was a helpful ray of light; patient; kind hearted; dedicated to his work; compassionate, a wonderful man, welcoming, fun, put a smile on others faces; good friend, treasured, incredibly smart, kind, never showed-up empty-handed; one of the hardest working members of any team; beautiful soul.

Brainiac, clever, bright, brilliant, quick-witted, educated, erudite, well-read, gifted … Matthew was a voracious reader and an inquisitive child. More than any other single thing, the key lesson of Matthew’s life is to be curious, to ask questions and — above all — to read, read and read some more.

From his early childhood, besides reading, Matt loved immersing himself in games of all kinds: board games, table-top role-playing games, foreign-language games and, of course, video games. A close friend writes that Matt was an avid online gamer with 974 games in his Steam Library — his top game being Crusader Kings 3. Matt was Vice President of The Board — a board-games club at his University in Chicago and he participated for many years in a weekly gaming brotherhood. His university friends write that for Angelo, Aspen, Nick, Nate, Scott, Maurico, Kyle, Ayun, Evan and Kevin, there will always be an empty spot open at their table for Matthew.

Matt moved to Kellogg in March 2022 to help with the caregiving for his beloved grandparents, who were both in their 90s. Matt found his purpose in helping others. We all credit his grandmother, Lois, with helping him understand that the happiest people are the people with the best attitudes, not necessarily the best lives.

Uncle to Pierce; Brother to Joshua and Sarah; Son to Duan Meng and John; Grandson to Keith and Lois Dahlberg, to Ho Kweng John and Foo Sye Fong. Cousin to 13; beloved nephew and toddler-whisperer to a rising generation of cousin’s children.

We are so proud that Matt was a champion and a fighter for the less fortunate and downtrodden. We admire his ambition to improve on the raw deal for so many that American capitalism has become. We love that Matt shared of himself gently and humbly.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 11, at Mountainview Congregational Church, 525 W. Cameron Ave., in Kellogg.

Donations in lieu of flowers to Médecins sans Frontières — Doctors Without Borders.

Memories of Matthew and messages of condolence may be shared with his family online at www.shoshonefuneralservice.com. Shoshone Funeral Services of the Silver Valley is caring for the Dahlberg family.