Matthew Gray

Matthew Edward Gray, 40, of Shoreview, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Monday, December 20, 2021.

Matt was born in Idaho and lived his early childhood in Montana before moving to St Cloud Minnesota where he graduated from Tech High School. He then attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis where he graduated in Computer Science. While at the U of MN, he joined the APS lab – this is where he first encountered very large datasets and eventually how to be a responsible member of the team. APS is also where he made his first connections with Clockwork; where he interned, joined as one of the first employees, and became Chief Innovation Officer. After thirteen years at Clockwork, he tried his hand at Optum, then decided corporate life was not for him and regained his footing at the start-up Symplany.

Matt loved pizza, programming, good food with friends, travel, hiking, and technology. He had big visions for how technology could solve problems in a wide variety of fields: non-profits, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and the arts. Matt loved nothing better than a difficult problem to solve surrounded by people crazy enough to take on the challenge. Over time, he realized that he needed even more skills to solve even bigger problems. Then he learned how to manage teams and sell products, it was a bumpy road at times because he was self-taught with high standards. However, learning how to learn meant he had an unshakable optimism for solving the biggest challenges.

In 2012, Matt realized what he really needed to do was teach others. He founded Coder Dojo Twin Cities with the late Rebecca Schatz. Together, with support from Code Savvy, they inspired thousands of students to explore coding, robotics, and technology – for free. Giving children access to technical mentors, providing equipment for students to just build whatever they were dreaming about, it was a revelation for Matt. He was never prouder then when his own daughter was able to join her first Coder Dojo.

In lieu of flowers, we ask that you donate to Code Savvy. We are also creating a scholarship fund through the University of Minnesota in his honor.

Matt was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Joseph and Vera; paternal grandparents, Gene and Dorothy; and mother-in-law, Marilyn. Matt will be deeply missed by his wife of 12 years, Carrie; daughter, Mabel; mother, Dian Gray; father, Paul (Lynn Vogel) Gray; brother, Jon (Amy Edwall) Gray; brother-in-law, Al (Leah) Majkrzak; niece Beatrice; uncles, Joseph (Phyllis) and John (Natalie); father-in-law, Jerry; and other family and friends.

A Memorial Gathering will be held on Saturday, January 8, 2022 from 4-7pm with memory sharing at 6:30pm at Bradshaw Funeral and Cremation Services, 4600 Greenhaven Drive, White Bear Lake MN.

Out of respect for our older family members, please wear your mask.