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Her memories of her husband, Matt, are loving and happy, and the grief over losing him is deep and fresh.

Matt, 35, died in his garage one month ago while exploring a woodworking technique known as fractal burning.

Before he died, Matt, a labor foreman with JP Cullen, had started a patio project. His co-workers recently finished it. A sealer was applied last weekend.

Matt enjoyed making things with his hands, Caitlin said, pointing to a wooden play structure he made that stands prominently in the yard. The couple have three children: Aiden, 13; Lily, 11; and Forest, 5.

In the months before he died, Caitlin said, Matt became interested in fractal burning, also known as Lichtenberg burning, a process that uses electricity to burn patterns into wood. Together, the couple had watched videos about the process, and Matt was intrigued.

“We didn’t know it was dangerous,” Caitlin said. “There were no warnings with the videos. If Matt would have known, he would have never done it.”

On June 7, Caitlin posted a video on her Facebook page warning about the risks of fractal burning. The video has received more than 23,000 views and 300 shares, and numerous commenters have reached out to thank her. Like Matt and Caitlin, many were unaware of the potential dangers.

“I will share this message for the rest of my life,” Caitlin wrote on Facebook.

Who was Matt Schmidt?Caitlin and Matt grew up together in Milton. He was the boy who wrote her love letters when they were 12. He was the senior voted “life of the party” at Milton High School, where they graduated in 2003.

After high school, life took them in different directions. Caitlin went away to school, first to the University of Southern Indiana and then to Edgewood College in Madison, where she took classes in early childhood education.

In 2006, Caitlin returned to Janesville, where she and a friend started a private school serving children ages 2 through 12th grade. The school closed in 2009.

Matt joined the U.S. Air Force, attending boot camp in Texas. He returned to Milton in 2003 and sought work through the laborers union. He found he was good at concrete work, Caitlin said, and was hired by JP Cullen. He started as a basic laborer and worked his way up. After 14 years with the company, he had achieved the title of Labor Foreman Level 3.

Even while they were apart, they kept in touch. They began dating in 2008 and moved into a home in Milton that same year. In 2011, Matt and Caitlin married, and in 2016, they moved into their current home.

Family, nature, crafting“Matt was a person who never left you wondering about how much he loved you. He was so forthcoming with that information,” Caitlin said.

Matt was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed bow hunting. He also was a devoted dad.

“He was involved in everything,” Caitlin said. “He went to every practice, school parties; he was a busy, busy guy. He had projects around here. They were nonstop, and he was always involved with the kids.”

Matt began crafting in 2009, making jewelry from deer antlers and lamps from buck rubs he found on trees. He liked using natural materials, Caitlin said.

Then he moved on to signs.

“He would make signs for everybody; he had a lot of goofy sayings,” she said.

He made customized bags boards for friends, and he had gotten a lathe. He planned to make duck calls, Caitlin said.

As his interest in fractal burning grew, he spent months watching videos, many of which had been posted online by a friend who also was experimenting with the medium.

Danger without warning“Matt was excited to learn this. What happened was a total accident. It was nobody’s fault,” Caitlin said.

In April, with help from his friend, Matt obtained a device for fractal burning.

While Caitlin said she didn’t understand all the particulars, she said Matt’s “machine” used jumper cables to transmit high-voltage electrical currents through wet wood. The process scarred the wood with intricate patterns.

“Every single piece is unique, and you don’t know what it will turn out like,” she said.

Working with electricity, “we knew he could get a shock, but we had no idea it could kill you.”

No good morning textMatt died Thursday, May 14, according to his obituary. But Caitlin’s worries began Wednesday night, when she didn’t receive a “goodnight” text. That was unusual, she said.

After attending Blackhawk Technical College in 2018, Caitlin became a registered nurse and found a job through Beloit Memorial Hospital. In February, she began working as a traveling nurse and was away that night on an assignment in Manitowoc.

She started home the next day, but by 7 a.m., while driving through Milwaukee, she still had not heard from Matt. A “good morning” text was his usual practice.

As she drove home, her son delivered the news by phone.

During the night, Matt had gone into the garage to explore the fractal-burning machine. Through FaceTime, Caitlin would see the first image of her husband’s motionless body in the garage. She rushed home to be with her kids.

Once she was home, the full tragedy unfolded. By the time first responders arrived, Matt was already dead, Caitlin said.

“He was still figuring it out,” she said of the machine. “He hadn’t made a piece yet.

“I called the medical examiner’s office one week later, and they told me he had burn marks on his hands. The electricity had just gone through his upper body. It went into one hand and out through a finger on the other.

“He was terminal before impact, they said. He was gone before his body hit the floor,” Caitlin said.

Helping and healingAfter losing Matt, Caitlin said she asked how such a thing could have happened.

“Turns out, there are lots of ways this can kill you,” she said.

One of the casings on a clamp was compromised on Matt’s device.

“It was just enough that when he went to grab the clamp, he connected with the metal,” Caitlin said.

“People make the equipment themselves. You can look up online, and it shows you how to make it. There are no warnings, but this could easily kill you.”

The videos don’t show the dangers.

“You just see beautiful art,” she said.

Since she posted the video on Facebook, Caitlin said, “People have contacted me saying they never knew it was so dangerous.

“What helps me is that so many people are saying, ‘Oh my God, my husband was asking for a machine like this, and since you shared this, he won’t do it.’ This is the worst possible pain other than losing my children. I can’t sit on this knowledge and have this happen to another family.”

Back on the patio, Caitlin talked about an outpouring of support from friends and family.

Before the new patio could be poured, an old slab needed removal.

“Matt had just dug everything out, and there was a pile of rubble over there,” she said.

“By the time I got home on the day he died, his boss was already here. He was very supportive, and within a short time his work friends were here. JP Cullen shut down that day and had a debriefing with their guys. It was a really big loss for them, too.”

Twenty JP Cullen volunteers finished the project. They poured concrete donated by Lycon in Janesville, and McGuire Landscaping & Nursery in Milton donated landscaping plants.

“I can’t remember my life without Matt. Losing him is like losing your compass. It’s just too big. He was here, and then he was gone,” Caitlin said.

For the family, she said, “It’s just a long road ahead.”

Matt’s words hang on signs in their home.

Some are humorous: “What the (picture of a fork) is for dinner?”

Others are sentimental: “Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite.”

Matt was the man who wore his heart on his sleeve, Caitlin said. Today, she wears the words “XO Love Always XO Matt” tattooed on her arm. They, too, are Matt’s words, written to her in a love letter.