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2012 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 248
Celebrating the life of Dr. Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, March 7, 2012
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 8, 2012
 

WHEREAS, Dr. Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., the third son of the Reverend Willie Jackson Madden and Ida Wilhoite Madden, was born on October 9, 1911, in Culpeper, and departed this life on October 27, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., attended Culpeper grade school and Hillside High School in Durham, North Carolina; he earned the bachelor of arts degree at Virginia State University and the master of arts and doctor of education degrees from Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York; and

WHEREAS, he began his teaching career in Culpeper in a one-room school donated to the community by his grandfather, and Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., taught adult education at the close of the school day in the church pastored by his father; and

WHEREAS, Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., devoted his entire life to educating others; he was a teacher and supervisor of adult education for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal agency established to train and employ unskilled workers, serving also as an instructor for one of the agency’s literacy programs opened in Virginia; he became supervisor of adult education for the State Board of Education; and

WHEREAS, three years after the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., was drafted into the United States Army, where he served for three years as a non-commissioned plans and training officer in an Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station during World War II; and

WHEREAS, while in the United States Army, Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., continued to teach, instructing newly drafted soldiers in basic literacy skills and mathematics, which enabled these soldiers to continue their training and enter active duty service; and

WHEREAS, after the end of his military service, Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., became a member of the faculty at Virginia State University, where he served as instructor and professor of education and as director of the Division of Field Services, now the School of Continuing Education, from which he retired as dean in 1978 and was awarded professor emeritus status; he continued to conduct summer classes for Virginia’s Eastern Shore teachers during his retirement; and

WHEREAS, Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., received numerous awards and honors during his lifetime, among them the National University Continuing Education Association’s Bittner Service Citation, the Jefferson Award of the American Institute for Public Service, the George F. Hixson Fellowship Award presented by the Petersburg Kiwanis Luncheon Club, and a resolution presented by the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors in recognition of his 100th birthday; and

WHEREAS, Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., gave liberally of his time, talents, and resources to cultural, community, and professional organizations; he held offices in several social and professional organizations, was a volunteer for the Salvation Army and Foster Grandparents program, assisted in the founding of the Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and served as president of the board during the orchestra’s formative years; he was a member of the historic Gillfield Baptist Church, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi fraternity, and the Petersburg Kiwanis Luncheon Club; and

WHEREAS, Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., died “full of years”; his life is worthy of emulation and his loved ones will treasure his memory and legacy; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Dr. Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr.; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Dr. Samuel Alfred Madden, Sr., as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.