John Maddocks,Jr.'s Obituary
John William Maddocks, Jr., age 87, of Spring Lake passed away Sunday, October 23, 2005, at a local hospital. He was born May 25, 1918, to John W. and Marian (Yarwood) Maddocks in Stockport, Manchester, England; and he married Madeline Naessens April 15, 1944, in Midland, MI.
Mr. Maddocks earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University (WMU) in 1941, and a master’s degree from Central Michigan University in 1968. He worked for Dow Chemical for many years, retiring in 1981. He later was the audio-visual coordinator for several years for Midland Public Schools. Mr. Maddocks moved to the Spring Lake area from Midland in 1987.
He was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church of Grand Haven; a life member of Elks Lodge 1610 of Midland; and a member of the Good Fellow Club of Grand Haven. He enjoyed gathering with his family. John loved sports, primarily basketball, which he started out with at Grand Haven High School, where he played on the last state championship basketball team in 1935. John went on to play basketball at WMU from 1937-1941. Mr. Maddocks was a basketball and football referee for the state of Michigan for 38 years.
Survivors include his wife, Madeline Maddocks of Grand Haven; 2 daughters, Kathleen (Michael) Mulder, Grand Rapids; Marian “Marnie” (James) Mueller, Muskegon; a son, John A. (Janet) Maddocks, Mt. Pleasant, MI; 9 grandchildren: Jessica (Jason) Simon; John Maddocks IV (and fiancée Brandi Nelson); Jeannette Maddocks, Brian, Julie, and Lisa Mulder; Casey, Spencer, and Sophia Mueller; and 1 great-grandchild, A.J. Simon; a sister-in-law, Maxine Maddocks, Spring Lake. His brother, Ellis “Al” Maddocks, preceded him in death.
A funeral service for John W. Maddocks, Jr., will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Grand Haven with Rev. Henry Idema, III, PhD officiating. Friends may meet the family 2-4 & 7-9 p.m. Tuesday at VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Home in Grand Haven. Interment will be in Lake Forest Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Hospice of North Ottawa Community. Share memories with the family at their online guest book at www.vbkfuneralhome.com.
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