Former circuit judge Madden dies

GLEN DALE -– West Virginia Supreme Court Justices is mourning the loss of former Second Judicial Circuit Judge John Thomas Madden of Moundsville, who died Sunday, March 20, at home. He was 78.

"John Madden was an outstanding judge who was known for his fairness, his work ethic, his integrity and his excellent legal mind," Chief Justice Margaret L. Workman said Monday. "My deepest condolences go to his family and his many friends."

Justice Thomas E. McHugh said, "Judge Madden was a highly respected judge within the judicial community. He brought to the bench three major attributes of a judge: experience, integrity and fairness."

Madden was born July 13, 1932, in Glen Dale. He was a 1950 graduate of Moundsville High School, a 1954 graduate of Lafayette College, and a 1958 graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law.

He practiced law in Marshall County from 1958 to 1991 and served as a circuit judge from 1991 to 2008. He was appointed several times to sit as a special justice on the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia when a justice was recused from a case.

Madden was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1963
to 1967. He was a former city attorney for Moundsville, McMechen and Benwood and was named a Fellow of the West Virginia Bar Foundation in 2006.

He is survived by four children, John Thomas Madden, III and R. Craig (Melanie) Madden, both of Moundsville; Helen Elizabeth "Beth" Madden of Fort Myers, Fla.; and Patrick Brian (Kathryn) Madden of Moundsville; seven grandchildren; a step-granddaughter; a step-great-granddaughter; and a brother, Charles F. (Trudy) Madden, of Springfield, Mo.

Visitation was scheduled for Tuesday, March 22 in Moundsville. A memorial service was scheduled for Wednesday, March 23 in Moundsville.