Matthew Stuart Augustine

Matthew Stuart Augustine died on April 29 in Moses Lake. He was born to Mort and Ruth Augustine on May 20, 1950, in Seattle.

Born to one of the original pioneer families in Washington state, Matthew lived his childhood years in Mountlake Terrace. When he wasn’t in school, he spent much of his time hunting, fishing and learning about real estate and acreage with his father, long time realtor Morton B. Augustine.

Matt and his dad would spend days in the backcountry of Snohomish County scouting acreage up the far reaches of the Skokomish valley, surveying and platting. Matthew’s real education took place in the foothills of the North Cascades.

At age 18, Matt enlisted in the U.S. Marines, and was honorably discharged due to vision limitations. Always an outdoorsman, he had an extensive career in logging that took him to Alaska, Hawaii, and Georgia.

In Alaska he logged on the east side of Prince of Wales Island, in Hawaii he logged Eucalyptus trees on the Big Island outside of Hilo, and in Georgia he logged to assist in the removal of hundreds of trees fallen by Hurricane Andrew. He loved telling stories of his encounters and adventures in the wilderness.

After his logging career, Matthew followed his father’s footsteps and became a licensed realtor, buying and selling single and multi-family homes.

Over the years he accumulated several small lots scattered around the state, where he could go camping with his Econoline camper; its license plate read “Condo2”! Matthew was most at home in the outdoors, camping, with a good cup of coffee and a cigarette. One of the high points of his career was when he accumulated four adjoining houses in Lake Forest Park. He then sold them to move east of the mountains to Moses Lake and Ritzville.

Matt’s final years were spent happily in the City of Ritzville where he became a well-known character in the community. His best friend was his dog, Shea, who was a mighty 140-pound dog that looked like a large wolf.

As a dedicated AA member, Matt had over 30 years in the program. He enjoyed the meetings and the friendships he developed in Lynnwood, Ritzville and Moses Lake.

He is survived by his cousins, Deirdre Augustine Plunkett and Webster Augustine, both of Seattle. The family is grateful for the Ritzville community and the Moses Lake Senior Living Center for their support of Matt.

A celebration of Matt’s life will be on Thursday, May 22, at 2 p.m. in the Moses Lake Senior Living, 8425 Aspi Blvd NE. All are invited to share their memories of Matt at this time.