Madelon Kay Possley

Madelon, who had been fighting cancer since last year, just last week was doing one of the things she loved most: hosting a party to celebrate Tania’s birthday.

She was the youngest of five children born to Roland and Maude Thebolt in Detroit, Michigan and was predeceased by all her siblings. Madelon embraced the role of loving matriarch, not only for her 14 nieces and nephews, but for their children and grandchildren. To them, Madelon was a keeper of memories, a cheerleader, and a provider of support, both concrete and emotional.

Though she and Marc married later in life, the two of them packed a lifetime's worth of love, fun and adventure into their union. They traveled, built communities in both Ann Arbor and Ft. Myers, Fla., and had a big presence in the lives of their grandchildren. Madelon cultivated a close relationship with her grandchildren who lived in Florida, and she was especially present for her five-year-old grandson Noah, who she cared for one day a week from the day he was born.

Tania was her best friend, confidant, and partner in crime. From her mother, Tania inherited curiosity, a love of reading and an ability to appreciate beauty in the world. Madelon loved her blended family dearly and cherished her relationship with Marc’s daughters, Jennifer and Melissa and their spouses.

Madelon graduated in 1967 from Immaculata High school, where she was a National Merit Scholar. She received a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education from the University of Michigan and was a lifelong scholar who loved reading and teaching.

She mastered the mechanics of language and literacy and used that knowledge to teach people with learning disabilities how to read, often leading them to reach skill levels that defied conventional expectations. Her students ranged from children with profound cognitive disabilities to college-educated adults.

Life, especially early on, was often difficult for Madelon and her siblings. Through struggles, she drew strength from her family, her Catholic faith community, and its traditions, and in cultivating beauty through gardening, art and crafts and cooking.

She grew her own herbs and was known for giving them to others as well as using them in her own dishes. She loved tulips and lilies and Polish pottery. She had an extensive collection of Boleslawiec pieces.

She believed in the value of presentation and in proper etiquette -- be it flawless table settings when entertaining friends and family, or a fervent belief that tennis shoes be worn for exercise only. She believed in using language properly and safeguarded it with enthusiasm.

Madelon delighted in the lighter side. She used laughter to cope and to lift others even when she was fighting a mostly private battle with cancer. Her sense of humor was sharp and irreverent, from satirizing the absurdities of modern life and politics, to her favorite joke about a pick-pocketing altar boy.

A prolific sports fan, she was especially passionate about the Detroit Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, and former Detroit Piston Chauncey Billups. She attended numerous Tigers games and collected mugs and glasses from the 1984 Tigers World Series team.

After graduating from college, she traveled throughout Europe on her own. She met her previous husband, Theodorus Takken in Amsterdam on that very trip and the two were married in 1974 and remained together for nearly 3 decades. She married Marc Possley on January 5, 2006. They were married in Chelsea, Michigan at the Chelsea Depot, and were able to cement their vows in the Catholic Church only a few days prior to her passing.

She worked for many years at the University of Michigan Graduate Library and later at Go Like the Wind Montessori school, teaching at the elementary level. She then became a private reading tutor and focused on teaching people with dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other disabilities. She created her own materials and exercises and wrote and published articles on overcoming these disabilities. Madelon sat on the board of the local chapter of the Learning Disabilities Association and volunteered at SafeHouse and the Battered Women and Children’s Memorial Garden.

Madelon was preceded in death by her parents; her siblings, Mary Minnema, George Thebolt, Martha Terlep, and Thomas Thebolt; and her beloved sister-in-law, Suzanne Thebolt.

She is survived by her husband, Marc Possley, children, Anton Milo Ernest Takken (Amy), Natania Rae Sottrel (Michael), Jennifer Possley (David), and Melissa Taylor (Scott) grandchildren Christian, Alexander, William, Marc, Logan, Lily, Kris, Sophia, Sarah, and Noah. Sister-in-law, Dianne Dorcey (John), and nieces and nephews Marybeth Sims (Duce), Michael Apple, Julie Mokma (Peter), Sarah Kleinjans (Chris), Carl Apple (Bridget), Casey Thebolt (Michelle), Clover Thebolt (David), Matille Thebolt, Gabe Thebolt (Angela), George Thebolt (Ashley), Alan Terlep (Jessica), Sharon Terlep (Rachel), Laure Thebolt (Brian), and David Thebolt and many family and friends.

A visitation will be held on Monday, May 15th, at Muehlig Funeral Chapel at 403 South Fourth Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., with a rosary being prayed at 2:30p.m. and remembrances at 5:30pm.

Visitation will be held again on Tuesday, May 16th, at St. Mary’s Student Parish at 331 Thompson St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, beginning at 10:00 a.m. A Catholic Mass will begin at 11:00 a.m., with a luncheon to follow at Barton Hills Country Club, 730 Country Club Road, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society https://donate.cancer.org/.