Obituaries

Mary Lou Kenney Madden, 94, passed away October 27, 2015, in the Clyde Cosper Texas Veterans Home in Bonham, where she was a resident. A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 31, with family visitation at 2:00 p.m., followed by the memorial service at 3:00 p.m. at Dannel Funeral Home in Sherman. Mrs. Madden was born September 3, 1921, in Woodville, OK, to Jewel and John Kenney. Her father worked for the City of Sherman, and her mother was a skilled seamstress and homemaker. The family moved to Sherman in 1924. Mrs. Madden loved to sew, knit, embroidery and crochet. She and her mother would make handkerchiefs and sell them for 10 cents during the Great Depression. She graduated from Sherman High School in 1938. In 1942, during World War II, she was sworn into the U.S. Army as a WAC, by Eleanor Roosevelt. During the war, she met the love of her life, John W. Madden. They married in Wichita Falls in 1944 and had four children. Mr. Madden continued to serve in the Army, and the family moved from state to state many times. Mrs. Madden approached each move as an adventure and taught her children to turn each new place into a home. An avid reader of all kinds of books, Mrs. Madden passed along her passion for reading to all of her children. She was a skilled baker and made homemade breads and rolls that could have been sold in any bakery, but her family and neighbors reaped the benefits of her baking talents. Quilting was also a large part of her life, and Mrs. Madden made sure that every child, grandchild and friend had one of her homemade quilts. Later in life, she made lap robes and comfort pillows for hospice patients. Traveling was another of her hobbies, and she enjoyed trips to Greece, Italy, England, Ireland and Alaska. Her other hobbies included a great love for flowers and birds. Mrs. Madden was a member of Era Methodist Church. Her family will always remember when she took her grandson's dog to church, and she and the dog sang a duet of 'Amazing Grace'. Mrs. Madden also was a member of the Preston Trail Chapter of the NSDAR, and was very patriotic, always reminding her children and grandchildren to respect the flag and what it represents. When she was 85, she won a National DAR essay contest about her life as an Army wife, titled 'Moving On'. Mrs. Madden was preceded in death by husband, John; sister, Dorothy Dollins; brother, Jack; and son-in-law, Gerald Alverson. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Margaret K. Alverson, of Ector, Dolores Ward and husband Gene, of Denison, John W. Madden and wife Kerry, of Anchorage, AL, and Barbara Holley, of Era; grandchildren: Patti Diou and husband Emile, of Arlington, Lisa Drumm and her husband Noel, of Sherman, Drew Alverson and wife Michelle, of Bells, Starr Capps and husband Joe, of Grapevine, Nathan Ward and wife Melissa, of Whitesboro, Spencer Madden and wife Kathryn, of Anchorage, Michael Davis and wife Jennie, of Era, US Army Sgt. John W. Holley, of Vincenza, Italy, and Matthew K. Holley, of Era; 12 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchidren. In lieu of flowers, Mrs. Madden's family requests memorial donations be made to the Preston Trail DAR at PO Box 645 in Denison, TX 75021.