Matthew John Clifton

Heaven gained an angel this week. Matthew John Clifton, age 50, of Johnston, IA passed away on July 4, 2025 after a short battle with Parkinson’s with Lewy Body Dementia.

Matt was born on November 6, 1974, to Louise and Dick Clifton in Des Moines, IA. Matt grew up on the southside of Des Moines and graduated from Lincoln High School. After graduation, Matt chose a life of public service. He enlisted in the Iowa National Guard and went on to serve as a Military Police Officer in the United States Army/Iowa National Guard. Post his time in the Army, Matt started working at the Iowa Department of Public Safety all while also achieving his undergraduate and ultimately earning his master’s degrees.

From 1995 – 2016, Matt proudly protected the citizens of Iowa. During this time, he worked for the Capitol Police, Iowa State Patrol, and Division of Criminal Investigation Major Crime Unit. Matt served on the State Police Officer Council, in several officer roles, from 2001 – 2016. Matt retired, from the State, in 2016.

Matt was a brilliant investigator. There was not a case that he did not spend endless hours piecing together with an aim to solve and bring justice. After retiring from the State of Iowa, he felt a calling to continue his passion for investigations and joined Principal Financial as the Director of the Corporate Special Investigations Unit in 2017. It was with great sadness when Matt’s terminal illness ended his career in 2024.

At the end of the day, what brought Matt the most joy, was the life he built with his wife Holly and their two daughters, Marisel (age 16) and Mayzelin (age 10). Matt and Holly spent 27 amazing years together and were married for 22 of those years. They loved traveling the world and making wonderful memories together, especially their time living in Switzerland. Matt was an amazing father that showed up to as many school, sports, and extracurricular events as possible. He would tell dad jokes, on repeat, for as long as the girls would listen, and always sneak them little special treats just so they knew he cared. He even tolerated attending a Packers game, every now and again, because it brought Marisel tremendous joy (Matt was a huge Chiefs fan)!

His days on earth will be cherished by his girls, as he often referred to us as, and we will continue to build a life he would be proud of. We will always take a piece of him with us as we continue to travel and explore what the future has in store. He will never be far from our thoughts and memories as the life we lived was too beautiful to ever forget.

The following are left, here on earth, to keep his memory alive: his wife, Holly Clifton, and their two daughters, Marisel and Mayzelin Clifton of Johnston; his mother, Louise Clifton of Ankeny; his sister and brother-in-law, Shelley and Bobby Doyle of Runnells; his brother and sister-in-law, Chris and Susan Clifton of Ankeny; along with sixteen nieces, nephews; and great nieces and nephews.

Matt was preceded in death by two amazing fathers, his father, Dick Clifton, and his father-in-law, Lloyd Uitermarkt along with his grandparents.

Memorial donations can be made, in Matt’s memory, to the Parkinson’s Foundation at the link below.

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