IN LOVING MEMORY OF

Lillian "Dolly"

Lillian "Dolly" Madden Profile Photo

Madden

July 25, 1929 – July 22, 2020

Obituary

Lillian "Dolly" (O'Sullivan) Madden of Melrose, formerly of Skibbereen, Co. Cork, Ireland, died peacefully on July 22, 2020. She was the beloved wife of Mike Madden of Melrose. Loving mother of Janice Camuso & her husband Rick of Reading, Michael Madden & his wife Jackie of Virginia, Dermot Madden & his wife Erin of Melrose, and Cecelia Madden of Wakefield. Dolly is also survived by eight loving grandchildren - Kelly, Brendan, Liam, Sullivan, Sean, Seamus, Brigid, and Molly, as well many relatives. Arriving in Boston in 1957, armed with only her Irish charm and little sister June, Dolly quickly learned US currency and secured a job with United Way making $117 a week as a book keeper. In 1961, at the Bay State Ballroom, Dolly found herself overcome with cement dust and love at first site when she was introduced to Mike Madden, a bricklayer from Moycullen, Co. Galway. Dolly and Mike married at St. Cecilia's Church, Back Bay and settled down in Melrose, which Dolly described as "practically in Vermont"! Dolly and Mike raised 4 kids and made trips back to Ireland whenever they could. Proud to be Irish in America, Dolly was even more proud to be an American in Ireland and would make sure that every sing song ended with God Bless America. Despite not having formal education, Dolly's was business savvy and had an ability to do complex math without paper or calculator. She managed billing for Mike's mason business and Melrose Hardware store and shared a paper route with one of her kids who sometimes even helped. Dolly rarely sat still and most enjoyed cleaning, including vacuuming bedrooms early on Saturday mornings when kids thought they could sleep in. She will be remembered for frequently accidentally setting herself on fire. Although her Firefighter husband barely noticed, her children did give her a fire extinguisher for Christmas after she set a wooden toilet seat on fire. If you hosted a wedding, class reunion, or graduation party in the Boston area and could never figure out who the mystery couple was who signed your guest book, Dolly's family thanks you for your hospitality! Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 from 5:00-8:00 PM at the Gately Funeral Home, 79 W. Foster St., Melrose. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, a funeral Mass will be held privately at St. Mary's Church in Melrose. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Running Strong for American Indian Youth https://indianyouth.org.
To order memorial trees in memory of Lillian "Dolly" Madden, please visit our tree store.

Services

Visitation

Calendar
July
28

5:00 - 8:00 pm

Lillian "Dolly" Madden's Guestbook

Visits: 12

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors