Matthew Lowell Zickefoose, of Carrollton, having successfully outlasted his rivals and naysayers for 82 years, took his leave of the earthly realm on September 17, 2026. Born on May 8, 1944 in Akron, Ohio to Marvin Logan and Undine Guinivere (Mellinger) Zickefoose, he acted as many middle children did, making an indelible impression on his classmates (and, at one point, the gymnasium floor) before graduating from Revere High School in 1961.

Matthew and his brother both found their love of all things automotive before they were old enough to have a driver's license, and would find themselves working together several times over the years at various auto shops and dealerships as well as the family salvage yard in West Salem, OH. Matthew also loved the road, and spent much of his working life behind the wheel of a big truck, logging over five million safe miles, forty-nine states visited, a subtly impressive streak of logbook violations and evasions, a wealth of stories that had his children regularly surprised that he didn't spend more of his income on bail bonds, and twenty years of marriage to a trainee driver that could actually give him as good as he gave her (for better and for worse), and match his prowess on the road.

Not content to stay in one place for too long, Matthew's hobby was also the side hustle - working on cars for family and friends, thrift shopping, moving vans full of goods at the local auction house, home repairs, and just about anything that might result in a busted knuckle from turning a wrench. If someone needed something fixed, he was always willing to lend a hand, and maybe some tools, and was always willing to lend his knowledge to anyone that cared to listen.

And if you cared to listen, he was FULL of stories, and opinions, and theories all gleaned from practical experience, and maybe a bit of late-night AM radio from a long night driving along a featureless highway. Exploits from the road, family stories, current events, Matthew could strike up a conversation with nearly anyone and anything, and usually did, to the occasional chagrin of his children, who had been waiting in and around the car for the past hour because he told them to do so since "they were ready to leave", only to have to go back into the house and get him to wrap it up.

Matthew also loved animals, and almost always had at least several pets throughout his life. Not content with just cats and dogs, he at various times either kept or helped rehabilitate squirrels, raccoons, skunks, opossums, just about any creature that would allow him to pet them, a trait his children inherited to varying degrees.

Matthew was preceded in death by the aforementioned rivals and naysayers, his siblings Timothy and Guinda (Miller), and three ex-wives; Margaret (Crosby) Brislinger, Novalie (Hadam) Zickefoose and Margo (Kenyon) Zickefoose. He leaves behind three children; Michael Zickefoose of Fredericksburg, OH, Melody (Douglas) Wilkes of Wooster, OH, and Mark Zickefoose of Carrollton, GA; and two granddaughters, Mackenzie and Hailey Wilkes of Wooster, OH, alongside numerous nieces and nephews, and enough tools to supply a service shop.

No services are planned at this time. In light of his lifelong love of animals, memorial contributions to the Carroll County Animal Shelter, or a local animal shelter, would be greatly appreciated.

Messages of condolence may be shared with the family at www.martin-hightower.com. Martin & Hightower Heritage Chapel is honored to serve the Zickefoose family.