Golf Outing, Dinner to Honor Memory of Drowning Victim from Tinley Park

The Matthew Kocher Foundation (MK56) is proud to announce the First Annual Matthew Kocher Memorial Golf Classic and Dinner, Friday, August 7. Proceeds from the event will fund the Foundation’s mission to carry on Matt’s spirit of ‘working together to help others’ through water safety education, providing scholarships to deserving students, and hosting community service projects.

The Golf Classic will be held at 11 a.m. at Meadows Golf Course, 2802 123rd St., Blue Island, Illinois. The dinner will be held at 6 p.m. at 115 Bourbon Street, 3359 W 115th St., Merrionette Park. The dinner will include food, drinks, entertainment by Liam Durkin, a photo booth, a basket raffle, door prizes, and a silent auction. The golf classic has sold out 144 spots and the dinner has pre-sold 320 seats.

“Matt had a strong sense of service to others, was modest about his success, and was considering becoming a doctor,” said Matt’s dad, John Kocher. “He worked hard at realizing his talents.”

Matt was an Honors student, a three-sport athlete, and very active in community service.

“We had such a happy life with Matt and were so very proud and excited about his future,” said Kathy Kocher. “He enjoyed success in academics and in sports and had many friends.

On July 22, 2013, Kathy kissed and hugged her son goodbye as he went off to Camp Manitoqua in Frankfort to earn 40 community service hours for high school. On July 27, 2013, the Camp took a field trip to New Buffalo, Michigan. Matt was standing in shallow water when he was suddenly pulled away from shore. Matt was a good swimmer, but his swim lessons were in the controlled environment of swimming pool. He was not educated nor prepared for how to deal with a rip current and drowned.

“We are devastated by the loss of our precious son, our only child,” Kathy said. We cannot bring Matt back, but we want to educate others about water safety so that no other family has to experience the same heartache that we are experiencing.

Since its inception, the Matthew Kocher Foundations has:

• Sponsored 50 Great Lakes Water Safety Presentations
• Awarded 10 Scholarships
• Hosted Community Service Projects for over 600 participants (The Matt Kocher Games, Adopt-A-Road, Tinley Park Irish Parade, a Food Drive, and a Trim-A-Tree program)