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3.20.2003
Matthew P. Darby, 36; 'he just took life full on'
Matthew P. Darby liked fast cars, an occasional prank, and anything to
do with water.
"He was a little boy at heart," his wife, Melinda, says. "He
loved toys, any kind of toys."
Once, while taking his friend's Corvette for a test drive on New York
City streets, he stopped traffic, spinning the wheels of the car in the
middle of an intersection. (He had hoped to buy the fastest boat he could
afford this summer.)
"He just took life full on, and then he would sit there and just
laugh," Melinda says.
Matthew, 36, met his wife at a beach in Florida 17 years ago; she was
a waitress and he was a painter. When her parents moved back to Coventry,
she stayed with Matthew in Florida. They were fast in love.
They lived there until their first child, Jessica, was born in 1993.
At that time, they moved to Coventry to be closer to her parents while
raising Jessica.
Matthew and Jessica were extremely close. They played video games, built
an elaborate model train set-up, and, occasionally, he even let his "Marshmallow"
drive the car.
He was the owner and operator of Cousins Painting in Coventry.
"He liked his independence," his father-in-law, Ed Keenan,
said. "He tried to work for other people but didn't like it."
"He knew what he wanted and he went for it," Melinda said.
"He couldn't be told what to do. He was a leader, not a follower."
He liked to surf, swim, and sit in the sun -- it cleared his mind.
"Florida was his favorite place to be, because of the ocean -- until
he found Newport," Melinda said. "He just liked everything about
the water."
He enjoyed surfing so much that while painting on a job in Newport, he
once slipped away, bought a board and hit the waves.
"I've seen him go surfing one time in Newport and come out of the
water so beat up," his father-in-law said. "He had no fear."
But the most important thing for Matthew was providing for his family.
"That's what gave him pleasure, making sure we didn't need anything,"
Melinda said.
He dreamed of buying a large, waterfront home for Melinda and Jessica.
Later this month, Melinda expects Jessica's little sister to be born;
her name will be Sara Michelle Darby.
-- Andrew C. Helman
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