Matthew Douglas Meador

June 21, 2017 Matthew Douglas Meador, age 28, of 300 Wilson St., Union, passed away on June 18, 2017 at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, after a 23-year battle with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Matthew was born in Spartanburg, December 20, 1988, a son of Richard Douglas Meador and Mitzi Gibson Meador. He attended Union High School and was a member of Mon-Aetna Baptist Church. In spite of all he endured, he was known for the sweet smile he always had on his face. He had such a big loving heart. He will be forever missed until he and Jesus greet us into the gates of Heaven. There are no wheelchairs in Heaven. Matthew loved cars and modifying them, building and shooting guns, playing his Xbox, photography, riding 4 wheeler back in the day, Road Atlanta and the Petit Le Mans, The 24 Hours of Le Mans Race, Formula One Racing, multi-class road racing, the sound of a v12 Ferrari, a radial airplane engine, a rb26dett, a big cammed-up big block Chevy, a big turbo spooling, a jet fighter and squealing tires, r/c planes, trucks, and multi rotors, quadcopters, WW I and WW II military history, geography, science, space stuff, the history of firearms, Dale Earnhardt back in the day when NASCAR was still good, aviation and airplanes. He loved the smell of burning rubber, nitromethane, a tire shop, sweet summer nights cruising in his s14 and leaded high-octane race fuel. He loved music of all kinds it kept him sane, it understood him, it helped him cope, it was therapy for him, and it was always there for him; absolutely loved street racing and didn't regret a minute of it. He always dreamed of getting his pilot's license and going flying, going to Japan, riding in a fighter jet, and going to a Formula One race. Surviving in addition to his parents are two uncles, Gene Meador and wife Lynn of Summerville and Tim Gibson and wife Robin of Cowpens; one aunt, Carolyn G. Brown and husband John of Spartanburg and two cousins, Heidi B. Jones and Adam Brown. He was predeceased by his grandparents, the late A. D. (Doug) Meador, Jr. and Gwen Jolly Meador of Union, the late Gid and Betty Barnette Gibson of Cowpens, and great grandmothers, the late Nan Gibson Mathis of Cowpens and the late Ada Stacy Barnette of Spartanburg and the late Ruby Corn Jolly of Union. A celebration of life service will be held at 11:00 AM Saturday, June 24, 2017 at the S.R. Holcombe Funeral Chapel conducted by Matthew's cousin, Rev. Michael Neuse and Rev. Chris Gulledge. Burial will follow at Union Memorial Gardens. At Matthew's request, loud fast cars, engine revs, launch control revs, and burnouts are to accompany him to the cemetery; friends invite friends to be part of car show and line up and sticker bomb his casket. Active pallbearers will be Pat McNeace, Jordi Parker, Tyler Heatherly, Caleb Roark, Johnny Hagan and Jason Tilghman. Visitation will be held Friday evening 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM at the S.R. Holcombe Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the Parents Project for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, 401 Hackensack Ave., 9th Floor, Hackensack, NJ, 07601 (http://www.parentprojectmd.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Fundraise_donate). The family is at the home, 300 Wilson St., Union, SC 29379.