Matthew Paul Tunno

Matthew Paul Tunno, 30, of Missoula, and a former Meadville, PA resident, died August 5, 2003 at home of natural causes.

He was born in Greenville, PA December 7, 1972, a son of Paul E. and Cheryl Goehring Tunno.

He was a 1991 graduate of Meadville High School, a 1995 graduate of the College of Wooster, Wooster, OH where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, and a 1997 graduate of the University of Montana, Missoula, MT where he received a Master’s degree in Forestry.  He would have graduated May 15, 2004 with a Doctorate in Environmental Policy from the University of Montana.  He was a Boone and Crockett Fellow at the University of Montana, a non-profit organization founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt whose vision was to establish a coalition of dedicated conservationists and sportsmen who would provide the leadership needed to address the issues that affect hunting, wildlife, and wild habitat.  He wrote and had published 2 books on environmental issues and was invited to speak several times at international conferences.  He recently received a $75,000 grant to investigate forest fires in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana to develop a policy that would prevent future disasters.  He was an avid fly fisherman and fishing guide.  He enjoyed hunting and was an accomplished guitarist.

He was a member of First Christian Church, Meadville.

Survivors include his parents, Paul and Cheryl Tunno of Meadville; a sister, Michelle Buelow and her husband Todd of Charlotte, NC; paternal grandparents, Paul and Rose Tunno of Madeira Beach, FL; and aunts, uncles, and cousins.  He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Charles and Gladys Goehring.

Calling hours will be Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Robert W. Waid Funeral Home, 581 Chestnut St., Meadville.

A funeral service will be Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at First Christian Church, Meadville.

Memorials may be made to: University of Montana Foundation, P.O. Box 7159, Missoula, MT 59807, directed to the Matthew Tunno Memorial Scholarship Fund.