Sen. Roger Madigan, Longtime Supporter of Penn College, Dies at 88
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Former Sen. Roger A. Madigan, ardent advocate for Pennsylvania College of Technology and a longtime member of the college’s Board of Directors, has died.
Madigan, 88, whose name adorns the Penn College library as a fitting tribute to his passion for education, served on the board from 1991 until his retirement from the state Senate at the end of 2008.
Madigan was elected to the state Senate in 1984 to represent the 23rd District. Previously, he served in the state House of Representatives, representing the 110th District, from 1977-84. Before becoming an elected official, Madigan was a dairy farmer and an insurance underwriter/consultant.
He was also a trustee emeritus of The Pennsylvania State University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in dairy production in 1951. He served as an agricultural trustee of the university from 1979 until 2001.
“Senator Madigan was a gentleman, a statesman and a public servant in the truest sense of the term,” President Davie Jane Gilmour said. “He served with distinction on the Penn College Board of Directors for more than 17 years. I valued his wise counsel and steady demeanor. He will be missed by the entire college community.”
Sen. Gene Yaw, chairman of the Penn College Board of Directors and Madigan’s successor in the Senate, said: “Roger was a visionary, recognizing the importance of educating high school students on the governmental process through his Student Government Seminar at Penn College, a tradition which we have continued for high school students in our region. It was my distinct honor to succeed Roger as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate. He was a true statesman and friend, and he will be missed.”
The Penn College flag has been lowered to half-staff around campus in Madigan's memory.
Arrangements are being handled by the Vickery Funeral Home in Bradford County, which has posted a full obituary.
Madigan, 88, whose name adorns the Penn College library as a fitting tribute to his passion for education, served on the board from 1991 until his retirement from the state Senate at the end of 2008.
Madigan was elected to the state Senate in 1984 to represent the 23rd District. Previously, he served in the state House of Representatives, representing the 110th District, from 1977-84. Before becoming an elected official, Madigan was a dairy farmer and an insurance underwriter/consultant.
He was also a trustee emeritus of The Pennsylvania State University, from which he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in dairy production in 1951. He served as an agricultural trustee of the university from 1979 until 2001.“Senator Madigan was a gentleman, a statesman and a public servant in the truest sense of the term,” President Davie Jane Gilmour said. “He served with distinction on the Penn College Board of Directors for more than 17 years. I valued his wise counsel and steady demeanor. He will be missed by the entire college community.”
Sen. Gene Yaw, chairman of the Penn College Board of Directors and Madigan’s successor in the Senate, said: “Roger was a visionary, recognizing the importance of educating high school students on the governmental process through his Student Government Seminar at Penn College, a tradition which we have continued for high school students in our region. It was my distinct honor to succeed Roger as a member of the Pennsylvania Senate. He was a true statesman and friend, and he will be missed.”
The Penn College flag has been lowered to half-staff around campus in Madigan's memory.
Arrangements are being handled by the Vickery Funeral Home in Bradford County, which has posted a full obituary.