William "Chip" Madsen Will Be Memorialized Saturday

William “Chip” Madsen of Maplewood passed away on Saturday, January 19, 2013 after a relentless fight with metastasized melanoma cancer.  Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Memorial Service at Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church, 600 Ridgewood Rd., Maplewood, on Sat, January 26th at 11:00 AM.  

Chip never did anything without energy, commitment and passion.  He married his college sweetheart and remained passionately in love with her until the end.  He was a classically trained musician who was a professional opera singer in Germany and the United States for several years.  In recent years, his passion was his fierce belief in social justice for all, advocating for the betterment of children’s lives and mentoring young people.  This was evidenced by his active leadership in many committees and programs at Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church and the community of South Orange and Maplewood. 

He was on the South Orange Maplewood Board of Education for several years, was a past Chairperson of the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, was a recipient of the Reading is Fundamental Volunteer of the Year Award, was honored by the South Orange Civic Association with the "Beloved Community Award" and received the NJ Governor’s Award for exemplary volunteer after-school programs. 

Chip served for over eighteen years at Protestant Community Centers, Inc  as both Associate and Deputy Executive Director where he managed the largest one-to-one tutoring and mentoring programs in NJ, the largest Reading is Fundamental program in NJ, four comprehensive onsite after-school programs, as well as day camps and overnight camps. 

He was most recently employed by the Enright Melanoma Foundation where he focused his passion on prevention and awareness of melanoma cancer.  He developed programs for children’s summer camps and town pools for skin cancer awareness and training of counselors and life guards. 

His motto in life was found in the Bible verse Micah 6:8:  “…. what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”    

He is survived by his wife of almost 40 years Dawilla Madsen.  He is also survived by his brother Douglas Madsen, several aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews and many individuals whose lives he touched with his huge, passionate and caring heart.

In lieu of flowers donations to Enright Melanoma Foundation, PO Box 519, Summit, NJ 07902-0519, and the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race, PO Box 1309, Maplewood, NJ  07040, or the organ fund at Morrow Memorial United Church would be appreciated.