Matt Boutwell passed away on September 18, 2026, at the age of 52. He was born to A.D. and Debbie Gray Boutwell. 

Matt's life was not an easy one. He had struggles, made mistakes, and carried regrets, as many of us do. Those things were never the whole story of who Matt was. Matt was a deeply caring person. He was kind, generous, and compassionate, especially toward people who were going through hard times of their own. He knew what it was to struggle, and because of that he had a particular understanding for people who were hurting, overlooked, or just needed someone to care. Those who really knew Matt knew that side of him. They knew he would help when he could. They knew the concern he showed for people, and the softness that was hidden beneath a rough exterior. He never made a show of any of it, and he would have been surprised to hear you say it out loud. 

Matt was a working man and spent much of his life working with his hands. Some of the photographs his family treasures most are of him on a tractor or an excavator, wearing that huge grin that was unmistakably Matt. Family was always part of Matt's story, even when life and relationships were complicated. He loved his family in his own way, and he was loved by them in return. His daughter, Claire Ann, was the great love of his life, and the birth of his grandson, Sterling, this past May brought another generation into the family and gave Matt the chance to know he had become a grandfather. 

As Matt grew older, he began thinking more about his faith and about his own relationship with God. He was never someone who made a show of religion. Faith was personal to him. In recent years he began reading and reflecting and talking more about God, about life, and about the person he wanted to become. He was still at it. His family chooses to remember his heart. We will remember the kindness he showed, the times he tried to help someone, and the part of him that kept searching for something better within himself. His life had difficult chapters, but they do not get to speak for the rest of him. Matt was our son, our brother, our father, our grandfather, our family, and our friend. He was loved. He will be missed. And we hope he will be remembered with the same grace and compassion he was so often willing to extend to others. 

Matt is survived by his daughter, Claire Ann Kelly; his grandson, Sterling; his mother, Debbie; his father, A.D.; his brothers, Greg and Brad; his sister, Ramona Smith; and other family members and friends who loved him. 

A graveside service will be held Saturday, September 26, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Hopewell Baptist Church, 95 Highway 533, Laurel, Mississippi, between Soso and Stringer. The Musgrove Family is honored to serve the Boutwell family and be entrusted with Mr. Boutwell’s arrangements.