Friends and family will remember 13-year-old Matthew Hubner as a smart kid with a sophisticated sense of humor, a loving and giving nature, a desire to please. He was a boy with big hopes for the future who was just beginning to define and assert himself.

In other words, Matthew was a typical middle-school student.

“Matthew is a gift from God who blessed my life,” his mother Heidi Blindauer said. “He gave love so freely, he cared about everybody and his family embraced him.”

Matthew slipped and fell Friday night while he was climbing on a treacherous cliffside at Deception Pass near the caves on the Skagit County side. He plunged more than 150 feet to the water below, according to Chief Mike Noyes of the Mount Erie Fire Department.

Matthew’s body wasn’t found, despite a large response from Island County and Skagit County fire departments, the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard and volunteers. He is presumed dead.

A community memorial service is planned for Hubner at Oak Harbor Middle School, where he was an eighth-grade student, at 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 5. It will probably last about an hour. A memorial fund has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank. His family hopes to install a memorial at the school.

Obviously, it’s been a difficult week at the middle school. Joe Hunt, district spokesman, said 17 support staff members, including counselors, youth pastors and substitute teachers, were brought in to help students and teachers cope. Administrators set up the school library for students who felt they needed someone to talk to or just time outside of class. About 170 kids spent time there.

“The library was full,” Hunt said. “This is really hard on kids.”

Students created giant banners with messages for Matthew and his family. “I will always remember you as the funniest boy I know,” one student wrote.

Matthew left behind his mother, Heidi Blindauer; his stepfather, Randy Blindauer; and his 15-year-old brother, Robert; his father, Don Hubner, among other relatives. An obituary can be found on page A-10 of today’s News-Times.

“Never will his quick smile, adventurous nature or strong, loving hugs be forgotten,” his mother said. “He is missed by us all.”

Matthew worshipped his older brother, his father said. Matthew was getting to the stage where he would call girls on the phone and hang out with friends, but the two brothers remained very close.

Robert said he’ll miss rough-housing with his brother, playing classic ‘60s music real loud and dancing in the living room. He’ll miss snorkeling and fishing with Matthew.

“We were really close and had a lot of the same interests,” he said, pointing out that they were only one year and 361 days apart in age. “We could do just about anything together.”

Matthew was born in California, but spent most of his life in Oak Harbor. Don Hubner said his son had a good mind for science and talked about curing AIDS or cancer when he grows up. He played the trombone in the school band for a couple of years, but gave it up to take part in student government.

Matthew was at home in water.

“He was a fish,” said Don Hubner, a Hawaii resident. “He loved the water. He loved to swim, fish and snorkel. He was looking forward to scuba diving.”

One good thing that Don Hubner hopes comes out of the tragedy is that the caves will be sealed off somehow. He said the caves make the dangerous cliff too enticing.

Matthew was hiking and climbing in the area with his 22-year-old stepsister and a group of her riends. The young adults were exploring the cave when they heard the sound of Matthew falling, came out and saw him in the water below. They tried to get to him, but were unable to because of the difficult terrain, Don Hubner said.

It wasn’t the first time that people have been killed or injured in the dangerous area, though it’s been about three years since a serious incident on the cliffs involved a person. Park Manager Jack Hartt said over the last two years firefighters rescued a couple of dogs that fell into precarious places.

Chief Noyes and Chief Marv Koorn of North Whidbey Fire and Rescue said that the two fire departments have an agreement to respond to emergencies in the pass, whether they occur on the Skagit or Island County side. Noyes said the areas around the caves are especially dangerous. The rock is unstable and nearly vertical.

Hartt said no area of the park is technically off limits, but that rangers strongly discourage people from going off trails.

According to the Skagit County Historical Museum, prison crews created the caves at Deception Pass after World War I by blasting away at a natural indentation in the rockface. The rocks and gravel, which was collected in a barge below, was used in construction projects. In the early 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps used material from the caves to build Deception Pass bridge.

The caves are extremely hazardous. Hartt said only experienced rock climbers with appropriate equipment should go anywhere near them.

In Oak Harbor, a community mourns for Matthew.

For Robert Hubner, one of the hardest things about losing Matthew will be the silence. He can’t remember a time when his brother wasn’t there.

“I spend every waking moment with him…” he said. “I’m really, really going to miss him.”

You can reach Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.