Dr. Matthew Niemeyer had a clear vision of his own roles in life and the effect of his actions.

“He lived well and loved well,” said Dr. Agnieszka Niemeyer, his wife of 25 years.

“Dr. Sunshine,” as Agnieszka called him, strove to heal the eye issues of peninsula locals and those who traveled to Sequim to be treated by the ophthalmologist. He also did what he could to be a positive force in the lives of those he encountered in his journey through life — to comfort, to learn from and to teach.

Niemeyer died from complications of kidney cancer on Nov. 13.

Many of the people whose lives Niemeyer touched are ruminating upon and speaking and sharing about the ways he affected their own journeys. They share their feelings or stories on Facebook (facebook.com/groups/194104382909959), inside and outside his Northwest Eye Surgeons office at 795 N. Fifth Ave., with each other in personal settings, and some honored the Sequim Gazette with their memories of the man.

“He was always positive, no matter what. We could have the busiest day ever… and he was walking around whistling and smiling and it never changed,” said optometrist Stephanie Stamoolis, who worked with Niemeyer at Sequim’s branch of Northwest Eye Surgeons.

“He helped me be the best I can be,” she said, “because he influenced me to try to be as positive as I can, (to not) take life too seriously, laugh a little bit, and take good care of people.”

From these memories a remarkably consistent picture of Niemeyer emerges: a man of laughter and compassion, full of energy, a talented surgeon, a connector intent on increasing community — someone who “met people where they were,” as four people interviewed noted using that exact phrase — and who was never seen acting in anger.

He was also seen as a man of faith with a beautiful voice and skilled hands, a young man who used his time fully and who left such good memories that he continues to serve and guide.

“He took the time to pay attention,” office administrator Barbara Simcosky remembered.

“Professionally, he was a jewel,” said Dr. Kirk Thompson, an optometrist and close friend.

Janet Ohnstad, head nurse at Northwest Eye Surgeons who worked with Niemeyer for 11 years, said, “When I feel sad I think of him, and he’s like ‘Enjoy the moment!’”

Friends and family host a special Celebration of Life, set for 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8, at Dungeness Community Church, 45 Eberle Lane.

The event is also being live-streamed at tus06web.zoom.us/j/84088259853?pwd=empFc05vU1JFR2gzMlFkQ2FVUCtHUT09.

The family also has set up a GoFundMe to establish a park bench in a public place in Sequim. Find the GoFundMe here: gofundme.com/f/Memorial-bench-for-Matthew-Niemeyer.

Heart for patients

Niemeyer served as the Olympic Peninsula’s only ophthalmologist in Sequim from 2007 until May of this year when he returned home on medical leave. Though his office couldn’t give a figure for the total number of operations he performed, by 2019 he had performed 25,000 in that office alone.

He also worked in emergency rooms. As the only trauma ophthalmologist on the peninsula he was always on call, and according to his wife he was always happy to help people.

In addition to the local surgeries, he performed uncounted ones while in residency in California.

While his professional focus was on his patients’ eyes, his wife, friends and other team members said that Niemeyer always had time for anyone who asked for it, be it a person at the grocery store or a nervous patient in the waiting room.

His motto was: “I strive to preserve and restore vision to body and soul for each of my patients. This is my privilege and joy.”

Simcosky said she asked him one day how he could be so consistently positive.

“He said that every day he would stop at the back door and say to himself, ‘My job today is to be here, to help as many people as I can and to make it as joyful as I can.’”

Lynne Duke, a patient of Niemeyer’s, said she wished she had known Dr. Niemeyer personally, because “as a physician, he was one in a million.”

Duke recalled a day she was waiting in the lobby for a pre-operative appointment, she saw Niemeyer come out of the surgery prep area to speak with an elderly lady.

“He literally got on his knees and spoke with her for about five minutes,” Duke recalled. “It was abundantly clear that he was a very caring man.

“My later experience with him as my surgeon was just as positive. He demonstrated a great sense of humor and did a superb job.”

The team at Northwest Eyes also spoke of the humor he brought into his professional life, from puns to other types of jokes to funny Halloween costumes, and the ease with which he could crack jokes or tell stories while operating, to help patients relax.

“He had his professional life, his friend life, and his family life,” Thompson said. From the stories of those closest to him, he was somehow able to be fully present in each of those roles.

“Matt could work 30 surgeries, and then come home and check on neighbors and friends,” Agnieszka Niemeyer said.

The road to the peninsula

Niemeyer was born a twin in Loveland, Colo., to a registered nurse and a Seventh Day Adventist pastor. The twins lost their mother at age 12, and they spent their childhood in Tennessee and adolescence in Florida, where Niemeyer’s brother still resides.

Niemeyer met his future wife during pre-med college at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee.

“Even in a college of young people he stood out,” Agnieszka said. “He wasn’t easy to forget.”

She spoke of his big gestures, his “booming laughter,” his friendliness to everyone and their love for him. The same word for his laugh was used by the people at his office.

The Niemeyers moved to California, where they graduated from the Loma Linda University School of Medicine.

”We were both the first in our families to attend medical school,” said Agnieszka, who is a dermatologist. They were drawn to “practicing medicine as a calling,” she said.

“We both believed in the calling.”

The Niemeyers have a 22-year-old son and two daughters, ages 11 and 19.

By all accounts Niemeyer was a loyal and dedicated husband and father, bringing his thoughtfulness and joy into their home-life and radiating it outwards into the community.

“I’m very, very thankful I had 25 years of understanding what it is to be loved,” Agnieszka said.

“We were both helped by strangers in our life,” she said, explaining that it was natural for the couple to welcome other people into their lives.

Niemeyer met his Northwest Eyes predecessor at the lunch line during a conference in Las Vegas, Nev. Neither of the Niemeyers had been in Washington state before, but Matthew Niemeyer embraced it from the beginning.

“He loved the practice,” Agnieszka said. “He loved working in a small town.”

Mel Robinson, supervisor at Northwest Eyes, recalled Niemeyer’s early days.

“There were a lot of staff that said ‘I don’t know if I want to learn a new surgeon. Maybe I’ll retire now … ’” Robinson recalled.

“There was a little overlap between the two doctors, so we were working together for a bit. And all of the staff at that time were like, ‘I’m staying — I love this guy.’ He was so flexible and respectful … He was very compassionate about what he was doing.

“He was just such an amazing teacher. He taught his patients, he taught his staff, he taught reps, he taught family members who would come in to observe surgery. He’s a blessing to our community.”

Prior to Niemeyer’s arrival, the area didn’t have a surgeon that treated trauma, Robinson said.

“So anyone who had serious high trauma would go to Seattle, and by the time they would get there, they would lose their eyes,” Robinson noted.

To Thompson’s knowledge, Niemeyer performed more glaucoma procedures than any other ophthalmologist in the state. He said that the product reps, who know all the doctors, went to Niemeyer for their surgeries. Others said they sent their family members to him.

Some people even traveled from out of state to Sequim to have their eyes operated upon by Niemeyer.

“He was an extremely good surgeon,” Thompson said. “Northwest Eyes tend to have A+ surgeons … (and) Matthew had a natural talent. Many people considered him the best cataract surgeon in the state. He performed a variety of surgeries and was good at them all.”

Friends: ‘He will be greatly missed’

Jon Brunaught, NW Equipment Manager for Alcon Surgical, called Niemeyer a “brilliant clinician at cataract diagnostics” and “a top level surgeon.”

Said Brunaught, “He made difficult cataract cases look absolutely routine. He was very passionate about the process of removing cataracts and genuinely cared for the patients outcome. I witnessed him do hundreds of procedures with zero complications and he would happily be singing everyday in the operating room.

“Dr. Niemeyer was a great surgeon and an even better man. He will be greatly missed.”

Marty LaBarge met Niemeyer first as a patient and then became a close friend.

“His key was to make things be better for others while he was here — family, friends and patients,” LaBarge said.

LaBarge taught Niemeyer, who had learned to ride horses because of his daughters’ interest, to trail ride.

“He learned a pretty good seat over time,” LaBarge recalled, speaking of Niemeyer as a man with the patience and insight “to understand the spirit of the animal” and an intelligent man who was “able to take corrective criticism and apply it.”

He said that Niemeyer was a man of ethics who lived his beliefs, hard working and trustworthy.

“I was blessed to have the opportunity to spend time with him,” LaBarge said. “Matthew believed in the gift of life — the only question asked is what did you do with it? The community is going to be missing a well-rounded, balanced human.”

As LaBarge said, “It’s difficult to summarize Matthew in print.”

Thompson said he met Niemeyer through the trade and wound up fishing, hunting and hiking together, admiring a beautiful view and sharing poetry. They shared a deep interest in the world around them.

They liked to “look at things we didn’t know about and investigate them,” Thompson recalled.

“He definitely wanted the community to enjoy the process of life. Life goes on. I have happy memories of him.

“I miss that warm, open smile.”

Said Thompson, “Matthew was such an asset to the Sequim community. He’s off to a better place. He wants everyone to revel in their memories of him and lift each other up in our grieving process.”

Celebration of Life

What: Event celebrating life of local ophthalmologist Matthew Niemeyer

When: 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8

Where: Dungeness Community Church, 45 Eberle Lane

Streaming: Online at facebook.com/nweyesurgeons

When discussing their team leader, Dr. Matthew Niemeyer, the people at Sequim’s branch of Northwest Eye Surgeons returned again and again to the statement that, “No one can fill his shoes.” Seen here are the ophthalmologist’s operating sandals, left in the changing room at the surgery, which were re-shod many times by the folks at Sequim’s Shoe Repair and now are one of the physical reminders of the man who affected so many lives. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

Dr. Matthew Niemeyer was a big fan of “Quigley Down Under,” and even had a special black powder rifle made for him with which he participated in a shooting contest in mid-1800s clothing. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

Northwest Eye Surgeons’ patients leave notes at a memorial table about Dr. Matthew Niemeyer. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

The “Lucky Lieberman”, Dr. Niemeyer’s special tool, is still in its place at the Northwest Eye Surgons office. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

The sign outside Northwest Eye Surgeons in Sequim has become a place for mourners to place flowers in memory of Dr. Matthew Niemeyer, the peninsula’s only ophthalmologist, who passed away November 13th from complications of kidney cancer, as symbolized by the ribbons. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

The sign outside Northwest Eye Surgeons in Sequim has become a place for mourners to place flowers in memory of Dr. Matthew Niemeyer, the peninsula’s only ophthalmologist, who passed away November 13th from complications of kidney cancer, as symbolized by the ribbons. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen

Some of the 27 member staff at Northwest Eye Surgeons pose by a bulletin board full of images from good times with Dr. Matthew Niemeyer. Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen