Creating a Legacy

Since 1977, Glen Ellyn Police Sgt. Robert F. Madden made this village his home and served his community with honor.

In 1999, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Though the disease robbed him of his life in 2007, his legacy lives on through the Robert F. Madden Memorial Scholarships. The scholarships, which were established in 2007, are given to one graduating senior from each Glenbard West and Glenbard South high schools who has an interest in studying a law enforcement-related career in college.

Glenbard West student Andrew Dombro and Glenbard South student Chrystal Parchem are the latest recipients of the two $1,000 scholarships.

As a police officer, Madden made a lasting impression on colleagues such as Glen Ellyn Chief of Police Philip Norton.

“He was a well-loved guy here,” Norton said. “The diagnosis of this disease takes about a year. The doctors have to eliminate all sorts of (illnesses with similar symptoms).”

Booie Madden, Robert Madden’s widow, explained that when one is diagnosed with ALS, “you generally have two to five years to go home and get your papers in order. He lived with it for eight years. He worked until a year before he died."

The scholarship program was begun because of a generous donation to the police department. Shortly before Madden’s death, Norton said the police department received a $10,000 donation from an anonymous local benefactor for “excellent service over the years.” Norton asked the Village Board if the money could be used for a scholarship fund in Robert Madden’s name. It was approved and Norton asked Booie Madden for her blessing. With approval from both the Village Board and Booie Madden, the program was created.

“I thought the proposal was stunning and amazing,” she said. “It seemed appropriate to start the scholarship in Bob’s name.”

Norton added: “I think it was very well-endorsed by the people of the police department because Bob was such as well-liked character. His death here left kind of a void, not to the level of what it does to a family, but Bob and I shared an office for a couple of years. We had a lot of fun together.”

Booie Madden said her husband grew up in Oak Park and they me in their senior year of high school. They both attended and graduated from Western Illinois University in Macomb and got married in 1977. Norton said Western is known for its law enforcement and justice administration program.

The words that come to Booie’s mind when describing her late husband are “fun, energetic, caring.”

“The family was everything to him,” she said. “The job was everything to him, but the family was first. He was just a wonderful person and everybody really enjoyed being around him.”

Keeping the Program Alive

To be eligible for the scholarship, students fill out applications and submit essays in early spring. Norton said the police department looks at other criteria such as their activity involvement, future career plans and financial need.

Booie Madden added that some of the applicants are invited to an in-person interview in front of a scholarship committee. Committee members include employees who have worked closely with Robert Madden such as Sgt. Ron Pocius and co-worker Lori Ladesic. Winners are recognized during their school assemblies and a Village Board meeting.

The Madden family has worked diligently to raise funds to keep the scholarship program alive. Since 2007, the family has held a golf fundraiser at Ken Loch Golf Links, 1S601 Finely Rd., Lombard. Half of the proceeds go toward the scholarship program and the rest go to a DuPage-based mental health organization. The latter is in memoriam to Robert Madden’s nephew who died in 2006. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 17.

In addition, the couple’s daughter, Sarah, a regional coordinator for Muscular Dystrophy Association in Downers Grove, created a spring fundraiser with the nonprofit health agency called A Toast to Life as a University of Illinois-Champaign student. After her graduation, she brought the event to Chicago. It raises money for ALS research, specifically for a MDA research initiative called Augie’s Quest.

Seeing a Good Sign

Booie Madden said that Chrystal Parchem will use her scholarship to study criminal justice at Western Illinois University. Her brother Colton Parchem was also a Madden scholarship recipient. While Patch was unable to reach Chrystal Parchem, Dombro, 18, talked about how his scholarship will help his studies.

Like many students, Dombro applied for a few scholarships. He saw his being asked for an interview to be a good sign in securing a Madden scholarship. He learned about winning it when he was invited to attend his school’s honors recognition event in May.

Dombro, a Glen Ellyn resident, admitted that he wasn’t surprised with the outcome.

“I felt that I had a pretty good application in general and then I thought I really did well on the interview,” he said.

His career route is to earn an accounting major at Iowa State University in Ames with a goal to enter the FBI.

“The FBI is pretty big about the financial side of crime,” he explained. “It just seems interesting to me. The scholarship means that it’s just another stepping stone, another support for my eventual goal.”

For more information about the upcoming golf fundraiser, call Ken Loch Golfs Links at 630-620-9665.