January 8, 2021
Matthew Bruce (Matt) Malone age 30, passed at his residence in Townsend, TN in the evening of 01 Jan 2021. He was born 07 June 1990 to his parents Bruce & Patricia Malone in Knoxville, TN.
Matt grew up Indian Rocks Beach, FL with his father and sister. He graduated from Osceola High School in May of 2008. He overcame many obstacles & challenges to reach manhood.
Scoring an unheard of nearly perfect score on the S.A.T. Before his high school graduation, Matt was most proud of his accomplishment of over 2,000 hours of volunteer service at Bay Pines VA Medical Center in St. Petersburg, FL.
Matthew chose military service over college. He enlisted in the US Navy in March 2009 and was the honor graduate in his boot camp class; receiving the admiral’s award for excellence. He was stationed at Camp LeJeune, NC as a hospital corpsman. He served two voluntary combat tours in Afghanistan with 2nd light armored Reconnaissance Battalion (Afghanistan OEF 11 & 12) and 2nd Battalion 6th Marine (2012-2014). After discharge from the US Navy, he had just completed a BA in accounting & finance from Maryville College with a 3.97 GPA National Honors Society and Dean’s List.
He is survived by his 2 year old son, Henry Evans Malone; wife, Annie Malone; sister, Marlee Holt (John) of St. Petersburg, FL; nephews, Joel, Milo, and Xavier all of St. Petersburg, FL; The Troxler Family of Wears Valley, TN; father, Boyd Bruce Malone of Smithville, TN; aunts, Melinda Malone, Maleaha Malone Elliot; Kay Perry; grandparents, Boyd & Marion Malone of Oak Ridge, TN. Matt’s “Grandpa Boyd” is a 1956 graduate Smithville “pure fountain” high school; Other important local relatives include Mack & Sandy Harney, Mary Hooper (Billy), Bruno & Geri Frazier.
Matthew was preceded in death by his mother, Patricia Higgins Taylor and his Grandparents, Ted and Elsie Higgins.
Matt described himself as:
Child of God, PROUD AMERICAN, but was most proud of his relationship and closeness with his son Henry.
There will be a private family service. Direct Cremation. Burial to be announced by Bay Pines National Cemetery, St. Petersburg, FL with full details & honors.
This information provided as a courtesy of DeKalb Funeral Chapel.