Matthew Gene Bichelmeyer

Matthew Gene (James) Bichelmeyer, 62, of Overland Park, KS, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly early on the morning of Sunday, August 13, 2017 while at home.

He was born on January 27, 1955 in Kansas City, KS. He was one of seven children born to Mary Lou (Billups) Bichelmeyer (Dikeman) and Leo Alfred Bichelmeyer who were married in 1947 until Leo's death in 2003. Matt was raised in DeSoto, KS where he also graduated from high school. He lived the majority of his life in and around the DeSoto, Shawnee and Tonganoxie area, relocating more recently to Spring Hill and the South Overland Park communities.

On June 14th, 1975 he married Robin Lattie (McKenzie) and they had two children together, a son, Jacob (Jake) Bichelmeyer and a daughter, Jennifer (Jenny) Bichelmeyer Hipsher.

During his young adult life Matt worked primarily as a butcher and was part of the meat cutters union. He started working at the Bichelmeyer Meat Market in KCK at the age of 17 eventually working as a meat cutter at Dahl's from 1982-1991. His constant desire to work for himself and become a successful and independent business man eventually lead him to purchase a small local grocery store in the town of Tonganoxie. He ran the store for nine years, eventually closing it down and converting the building into a full service restaurant known as The Bichelmeyer Steakhouse which he owned and operated with his second wife, Vicky (Selby). He helped raise his two stepsons, Hunter and Parker Dean and he shared a very special bond with his mother-in-law known affectionately as Mammie.

Matt was a very passionate man and over the course life he pursued a variety of passions. The things he loved the most, he loved with all his heart. If a little bit was good – a lot was definitely better. He enjoyed things that gave him pleasure; good food, good wine, good times, good people, and more than anything, feeling like he had helped to make someone improve their lot in life or to feel better about themselves in some small way. He was a very spiritual man and truly wanted to understand and appreciate the "soul" of those he came in contact with.

Over the years his passions lead him to try his hand at variety of pursuits. He spent time as an event caterer as well as overseeing and operating the local pool's concession stand for a period of time. He bought, rehabbed and sold properties. He opened a pawn shop, and an antique store and he owned a number of different rental properties over the years. He dabbled in competitive BBQ and homemade wine making. He loved live music and played guitar and a variety of musical instruments (just about any that he put his hands on he could play by ear). He composed songs and wrote lyrics and played in the Red Hot Prairie Dog Band with his closest friends, the Ross brothers. He attended the Winfield Bluegrass festival when he could and was proud of the fact that he had the privilege of witnessing the Dixie Chicks perform there in the years before they made it to the big leagues and Dolly Parton, Patty Loveless, and Marilyn Monroe ranked right up there just below God on the scale of the things he admired most.

Unless you knew Matt well, you would probably never guess that he could often be a rather introverted and shy man because he never really knew a stranger. He could walk up to anyone and make them feel comfortable in a conversation. For a "shy" guy, he loved to be the center of attention and loved to entertain an audience. He enjoyed making people laugh or moving them to tears.

In his young adult years he even acted in a variety of community theater productions including playing the lead role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Very active in his community, he served on the local volunteer fire department and played the role of McGruff the Crime dog to help support community safety efforts. He volunteered at soup kitchens and he contributed as much of his excess food products to Harvesters as he could. He was also known to quietly make sure that his clients or patrons in need did not have to go hungry. He just had a heart for helping others out. He provided job training opportunities for local students with special needs and he participated in preparing them for work through mock job interviews and activities such as Job Olympics. For many years he was an active member of the Knights of Columbus. He was recognized for his generous contributions of time as well as goods and services by many and was even awarded the Tonganoxie Chamber of Commerce award for citizen of the year in 1997. Always a risk taker in business and a bit of a gambler at heart he thrived on stepping out of his comfort zone yet also clung to what he knew and felt comfortable with. While he delighted in taking some dangerous "risks" he was like a frightened child in many ways too. He was scared to death to have a shot in the doctor's office and avoided the doctor or dentist at all costs. Some things in life were just too scarey for him. Growing old and aging was one of the things he feared the most. He wanted to make sure that he always had quality of life so he could do the things he loved.
In his free time (and sometimes when he was technically "on-the- clock") he enjoyed playing golf, having a drink with his buddies and he was always in the mood to play cards, especially poker and pitch. He valued family time as well as alone time but especially enjoyed spending time with his brothers and sisters and was always very proud of his "roots", his family heritage and the history of the Bichelmeyer name. He had an incredible sense of humor and loved to make people laugh and enjoy life. He was funny and fun to be around. His wit was sharp and he was never afraid to be a goof ball or to make fun of himself. Many stories have been told of how much fun it was to be with and around the Bichelmeyer boys and the Ross brothers. Matt loved nothing more than sincere laughter and good hearted fun.

He especially had a knack for recognizing the good in everyone and encouraged others to pursue their skills and talents and to always "GO for the Gusto" and to be sure to follow their dreams. He had a way of making everyone around him feel special and valued, no matter what their ability level or what their social or economic status might happen to be. He would gamble with the high rollers yet always remained humble enough to literally give a person in need the "coat" off his back. At times he was generous to a fault. He would prefer to take a loss, rather than to ignore a need. He was simply drawn to the most humble of all creatures and never met an animal he didn't like. He could sit on the porch for hours and communicate with the birds. He had a true appreciation for nature. He was truly a passionate man who lived his life on his own terms. His faith in God was strong and he shared his faith openly and as often as he could. He did not believe that the gateway to heaven was through following a list of rules or performing good deeds but rather, that it relied on a state of mind and a true belief in a higher power. While he loved tradition and old fashioned values he also delighted in breaking all the rules. He loved the innocence of children, and dogs and Gunsmoke and Bonanza and the Andy Griffith show. Most of all he loved family and friends and food and fun, (with emphasis on FUN). One thing that brought him the most pleasure was seeing in grandkids find joy. When he could he would attend Jordan's volleyball games and entertain little Macie while the adults watched the game. He always made sure that he encouraged all children he came in contact with to believe in themselves and to know how much God loved them and to understand what a special gift they had to offer this universe. He knew that only these times and moments were the times and moments that really truly mattered in this world.

But as we all know, life is not always fun and Matt faced a number of challenges throughout his lifetime. He was naturally devastated when in 2011 he found himself having to reinvent his life. When his once successful businesses failed and his second marriage ended in divorce, he found himself with the difficult task of starting all over again with support of the Bichelmeyer family and his friends. It was a rapid and steep rise and fall but he was determined not to question or blame but instead to accept his fate. He often told others one of his favorite quotes, "Acceptance, brings sweet peace- I don't have to like it, I just have to allow it to be".

While struggling to come to terms with his situation, he eventually went to work for friends at Prose, Inc. as a warehouse manager where he especially appreciated not having the stress and pressure of being the "boss" and where he totally enjoyed the camaraderie and antics of his co-workers and friends. Matt recently retired from Prose and sincerely missed getting up to go to work everyday…well at least the part where he played cards before work and on his breaks.

He met Randi (Lewis) Swenson in early 2014 and found love again. They were married on October 23, 2016 and although their time together was much shorter than either had anticipated or hoped for, the love they shared was great and the time they had together was exciting, full and happy. In the short time they were together, they enriched each other's lives immensely. Although way to brief, their's was a true love story that few ever get the opportunity to experience and they both felt very blessed to have found each other. Matt related to Randi's children and grandchildren as though they were his own and he formed a very special connection with Emily, her daughter with special needs. Like the bond with his children, and his step sons and he and Emily formed a very special friendship and bond, one that will never be forgotten. But then that is what Matt was the very best at. Making people feel good about who they were, just as they were. He had a way of making an individual he was interacting with feel special and loved. He was truly a one of a kind individual and the people who knew him will miss him greatly. They will miss the bright twinkle in his eyes, the mischievous smile on his face, his wonderful sense of humor, his generous nature, his passionate feelings and his incredible ability to love or find good in even the most unlovable. Matt believed in God, family, nature and LOVE. And the greatest of these is LOVE.

Matthew is survived by his wife Randi, his daughter Jennifer Hipsher and her husband Tony and their daughter's Jordan and Macie, his son Jake Bichelmeyer and Jake's wife Sherry Lyn; and Jake's daughters Baily Jo and Riley as well as his step sons, Hunter Dean and Parker Dean and Hunter's son Breylen. He is also survived and will be greatly missed by Randi's family, Holly and Chris Deimer, Lindsey and Derrick Yoder, Joseph Davis, Emily Swenson and her grandchildren, Katarina, Nate, Lilly, Lexi, Julie and Addison. He is also survived by his bothers Garry Bichelmeyer and his wife Mary, and brother Lee Bichelmeyer and by his sisters Linda Konitzer and her husband Danny and Diane Lutrell; by his brother Mark's wife, Marietta Bichelmeyer as well as many, many, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and cousins. In fact, at one time, the Bichelmeyer family was recognized by LIFE magazine as being one of the largest families in the Kansas City, KS area. If you are a doubter, then you have probably never attended a Bichelmeyer family reunion. Trust me, names are simply too numerous to include everyone that was part of Matt's family. We will never truly know how many people sincerely loved Matt. Please share your special memories with us on his memory book so we can hold them close to our hearts while we are still on this earth.

In quoting one of Matt's favorite songs by one of his favorite musicians, Cat Stevens; "we are only on the earth for a very short time". We look forward to being with you on the other side dear Mattie and we are thrilled that you are now at peace and enjoying the company of those who passed before you.

Matthew was preceded in death by his Father Leo, his mother Mary Lou, his step–father, Richard Dikeman and his younger brothers David Bichelmeyer and Mark Bichelmeyer and his best childhood buddy and long time friend and partner in crime, Mark Ross.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at Penwell-Gabel, 143rd and Blackbob in Olathe at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 20, 2017; followed by a reception and visitation from approx. 2:30-4:30 p.m. at the same location.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that you make memorial contributions to Catholic Charities by visiting https://Catholiccharitiesks.org/

The family would like to encourage all who knew and want to honor Matt to make comments by clicking on the "Share Memories" button above, and if possible to share stories and memories of him at his Celebration of Life service. Your special memories will help his family cope with the sudden and unexpected loss of this very special man.