Matt Patrick Memorial Foundation
Michael Ryan, known on-air to millions of radio listeners as “Matt Patrick” passed away at the age of 58 on July 9, 2017 after a courageous 2 year battle with cancer. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, lived in Hudson, Ohio for many years with his wife, Paula and their son, Jake, and daughters, Lexa and Alanna, before moving to Houston, Texas in 2011.
Matt Patrick was an incredibly talented, beloved, and successful radio personality and talk show host for nearly 40 years, primarily in Akron and Cleveland, Ohio (Clear Channel Communications), Indiana (Federated Media), and Houston and Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas (iHeart Media). He was a two-time Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee. Starting in 1980, Matt Patrick honed his craft working passionately at the helm of the #1 morning radio show in Akron, Ohio, on WKDD, for almost 30 years, reinventing the way radio was done. Also during this time, he devoted his heart and soul to raising millions of dollars for Akron Children’s Hospital as a founder and original host of the ‘Have A Heart, Do Your Part Radiothon’. In November 2005, he achieved sobriety, one day at a time, and had helped countless others who struggled with addiction and alcoholism for over a decade. In 2008, The Matt Patrick Show was launched. Matt Patrick approached talk radio in an innovative and personal way, easily connecting with his listeners who often said they felt like he was part of their family. After moving to Houston, he brought his quick wit, brilliant sense of humor, and second-to-none work ethic to the major-market airwaves as the host of Houston’s Morning News on News Radio 740 am KTRH, and also brought his long-form syndicated talk show, The Matt Patrick Show, from Cleveland to Texas soon after.
Matt Patrick loved to make people laugh with his unique and entertaining way with words. He had a very special ability to reach people in a deeply personal way, especially after being diagnosed with Stage IV mucosal melanoma on September 11, 2015, when he decided to openly share details of his fight against cancer publicly at every step of the way. True to his indomitable spirit, Matt Patrick mustered the strength to broadcast to his beloved audience one last time to say goodbye less than a week before his passing.
The Matt Patrick Memorial Foundation was established in 2018 by his best friend and widow, Paula, as a tribute to the memory of Michael “Matt Patrick” Ryan. In addition to providing support and financial assistance to individuals and families, the Radiomattrick #SandboxStrong Award is presented annually to an individual or family experiencing challenges associated with cancer, while bravely exemplifying the tenets in life that Matt Patrick passionately supported, believed in, and demonstrated in his own life: Faith, Family, Humility, Speaking Without Fear, Tenacity, Hard Work, Living Passionately, and Service To Others.
A Father to the fatherless, a Defender of widows, is God in His Holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5
