Matthew Phillip Burkholder, 43, of Fargo, ND, died on Thursday, December 27, 2012 at Sanford Health, Fargo. He was born on August 24, 1969 in Bismarck, ND to Keith and Vel Rae (Neeb) Burkholder. From a young age he was a performer, working puppets and doing movies with his friends. His first performance was as a cabbage in Farmer Jones' garden. He performed in many shows at both Agassiz Junior High and Fargo South High. He was a member of Pizzazz at Fargo South. He attended DePaul University in Chicago for one year, after which he came back to Fargo to attend NDSU.