It is with great sorrow that we write to inform you that Matt Young, a member of the Echo Hill Community, has died. On Saturday, December 8th, Matt passed away surrounded by his family at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. He succumbed to injuries that he received in a devastating fire at his home on Thursday morning, December 6th. Matt's sister, Abigail, died shortly after the fire. His father is hospitalized in critical condition. Matt's mother managed to escape injury as did his two older sisters who were not at the home.

Matt had been coming to camp every summer since 2004 and was a counselor in training last year. He was a sophomore at the Park School. Abigail had just visited Echo Hill Outdoor School for a week in October with her sixth grade class from The Calvert School. Matt's cousins, Emma and Tom Young, are also members of the Echo Hill Family.

News of the tragedy has ripped through the Echo Hill Community and we feel a terrible loss. It is impossible for us to fathom the grief felt by his parents, and his two older sisters.

Eliot was one of Matt's counselors last summer. He writes to us from California;

Over the last several days I have talked to many of Matt's friends, and their families. I struggled to explain what had happened, knowing that I had no answers, that I was no better equipped to understand than they.

I tried to give comfort, and take comfort, in the fact that Matt's family was by his side, that in his final hours he was surrounded by the people that loved him most, that we were lucky to have him among us and lucky to share with him a community so caring and close. Still, these thoughts seemed a small comfort in the face of such a senseless, overwhelming loss. In the end I was humbled by the depth of caring, compassion, and sorrow I found in the people around me. I was also reminded that, often, comfort comes only when we understand that we are not alone, that we care, mourn and celebrate together.

So we remember Matt as a boy, a big shy smile under a mop of hair.

We remember his grin, ear to ear, as he water-skied for the first time.

We remember the gentle way about him, his kindness and his friendship.

We remember Matt as a young man, his quiet confidence, his wit, the sense that he was growing into himself, the promise of the man he might become.

We remember Matt together, and celebrate him. Because he was our friend, because he was our family, and because we miss him so very much already.

Our hearts go out to the families.
Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Matt we love you and we will not forget you!