Matthew Preston Hubbard

Matthew Preston Hubbard was born on June 5, 1979 at Radford Hospital in Radford, VA. He lived with his mother in their home in Christiansburg for his entire life. Matthew passed away at his home on November 25, 2020. As always, his beloved mother was by his side as was his dear friend, Heather Shepherd.
Matthew had an amazing life in spite of the many obstacles he faced. He was unique in many ways. He had Rubenstein-Taybi Syndrome (RTS) and will be missed by thousands of RTS friends and family members. He was often called the “Ambassador” at the yearly RTS conference in Maryland because he was so enthusiastic and greeted everyone who came into the conferences. He was the most verbal non-verbal person you could ever meet and spoke volumes with his beautiful blue eyes and smile. His thumbs up could brighten the darkest day. Matthew loved life and lived it to the fullest. He gave unconditional love to those blessed to know him. He knew no strangers and his joy was contagious.
He and his mother volunteered at the Carilion Hospital in Christiansburg for a while where he worked in the gift shop and placed magazines in the waiting rooms. He and his mother also volunteered at the Lewis Gale Hospital Montgomery in Blacksburg, where he sold candy to the staff. In 2011, he and his mother were honored to receive The Frist Humanitarian Award for their dedicated service at the Lewis Gale Hospital Montgomery.
Matthew was an active member of The Dwelling Place in Christiansburg. He loved his church family and they loved him. He enjoyed the simple things in life like watching movies, listening to music, working 1000-piece puzzles, going to the library and checking out 20 DVDs, and going to Sonic to get his large Dr. Pepper.
Our loss is Heaven’s gain and while we will miss him tremendously we know he is singing and dancing in Heaven.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Frank and Myrtle Hubbard and Jake and Nora Woolwine; and his uncle, George Woolwine.
Matthew is survived by his mother, Kathy Hubbard; father and step-mother, David and Beth Hubbard; brother, Joshua Hubbard; sister and brother-in-law, Mandy and Ryan Phillips; his nieces and nephew, Mallory, Piper, and Fletcher Phillips; and his many aunts, uncles, and cousins.
A Celebration of Matthew’s life will be held at The Dwelling Place, 3325 N. Franklin St., Christiansburg, VA 24073 on Saturday, December 12, 2020 at 3 p.m. There will be limited seating in the sanctuary but there will be overflow seating in another room. The Service will be made available on YouTube at youtube.com/DwellingPlaceNRV.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to The Dwelling Place in Matthew’s name to help his mother pay for the expenses related to going to medical appointments and cancer treatments during his battle with cancer.