Matthew John Rand

Matthew John Rand was born on January 24, 1978, in Marshall, MN. He was baptized at First English Lutheran Church in Marshall. Matthew grew up in Minneota and was confirmed at Hope Lutheran Church. He graduated in 1996 from Minneota High School where he was involved in cross country and track. After high school, Matthew enlisted in the National Guards and continued with the Reserves until he was honorably discharged. Matthew enjoyed time with his family and always made you feel important to him. He always had a good sense of humor and enjoyed joking around and making others smile. He enjoyed being outdoors, cooking and grilling, running, lifting weights and taking his loyal pet, Cassie, for walks. He was able to bring a level headed opinion to a conversation and made you feel that everything would be alright. He died on Saturday, June 8, 2013, in Balaton, as the result of a vehicle accident. Survivors include his mom and dad, Valerie (Voss) and Fran Downing of Taunton, brother Ryan (and Amy) Rand of Winona, sister Alyssa Downing of Minneapolis and sister Jaqlyn (and Chris) Downing of Austin, nieces Kaylee and Emily, nephew Ryker, many aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by maternal grandparents Melvin and Nyla Voss, paternal grandparents Anton and Florence Downing, paternal grandparents Gordon and Gloria Rand, biological father Barry Rand, maternal great-grandparents John and Alice (Larson) Budnick, paternal great-grandparents Orion and Lora (Phillipe) Voss, Aunt Sherry (Voss) Scholten, Uncle Greg Voss, Aunt Mary Jo Rand and Aunt Lori (Rand) Swanson. Praise and Glory be to God our Father forever.