Billy Dean Madden

On June 12th, 1935 under the tall pines of Foreman, Arkansas in his Grandmother’s small farmhouse, Billy Dean Madden was born. With his older sister, Jackie and lots of cousins, he roamed the farmland barefoot, playing with pigs, cows and horses. At age four, he met his father who had been traveling the country during the Great Depression, living in Hobo jungles and hopping freight trains looking for jobs. His father found work for Stanolind Oil in the developing fields in Wink, Texas and eventually, Iraan, Texas where Bill grew up. Bill was a hard worker his whole life starting as a pin setter at a bowling alley at age 10, a grocery sacker at 11, drove a car at age 12 to deliver circulars, a dump truck by 13 and a plane by age 14.

Despite his short stature, he excelled in all the sports of boyhood including football, basketball, baseball and even tennis. He was a natural leader with a quick laugh, a big smile and became President of the student council, class favorite and received a college scholarship to San Angelo State as a kicker. The defensive tryouts at college involved all the players putting on boxing gloves and a blindfold on a large mat and punching it out until the last 11 were standing. Having big muscles and crouching lower than the other players, Bill made the cut, started as middle linebacker and never lost the position.

After 2 years, he transferred to the University of Texas in Austin which lead to his acceptance into Physical Therapy school at UTMB in Galveston, Texas. Just before PT school started, he met Wylma Mercer, a tall beautiful intelligent woman who instantly captured him and kept him for the next 63 years until her death in April 2020. Bill, Wylma and their first son, Gary Dean, moved to Odessa, Texas in January 1958 where he started his physical therapy career helping to teach kids with polio to walk at the Crippled Children’s Center, and then developed a career in private practice as Odessa’s only physical therapist for many years. He loved people and helped the accident victims of the West Texas oil fields, the injured athletes of the Friday night lights, and quite a few desperate housewives in his 40 year plus career.

In his spare time after having 2 more sons, William Michael and Bradley Lamar, Bill studied the kinesiology of sports. He became a great water skier, and taught countless family and friends how to ski. He was a beautifully smooth snow skier and the whole family joined in the adventure. He became the Odessa Country Club tennis champion in both singles and doubles and taught his whole family how to play tennis with 2 of his sons becoming college tennis players. He started golf at an older age but loved his golf buddies, especially in retirement and shot his age or lower every year from age 69 to 84. To his 8 grandchildren, he was known as Papa Mojo and in spite of great success in his professional, social and financial endeavors, he was perhaps the most successful in this role. Ambition, competition and perspiration had given way to encouraging love, involvement and acceptance. He worked hard and played hard. He loved the Lord and others joyously. He died bravely on January 5th 2023. He was so blessed by his many dear Odessa friends. Having lived in Odessa 65 years, he made his community and world a better place. He was deeply loved and appreciated by many.

His memory will continue to inspire his sons, Dr. Gary Madden with wife Shauna of Midland - their 3 children, Lindsey Parker and husband Christian of Dallas, Natalie Stephens and husband Scott of Midland, Meredith Sauer and husband Evan of Dallas; Michael Madden with wife Stephanie of Round Rock - their 3 children, Monica Fielding with husband Jimmie of Rockport, April Reed and husband Skyler of Fort Worth, Myles Madden of Austin, and Brad Madden of Odessa and his daughters, Madisson Madden and Elliotte Madden of Dallas, and their mother Kathy Madden of Cedar Park, and his 13 great grandchildren.

A celebration of life reception will be held at Odessa Country Club on Saturday, January 14th at 1:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations would be welcome for Westminster Presbyterian Church in Odessa or Meals on Wheels for which he volunteered many years.