Calling Hours:
Friday, March 17, 2017, 5:00-8:00pm
Saturday, March 18, 2017, 10:00-11:30am
St. John's Lutheran Church
Greenville-Mercer Rd., Greenville, PA
Funeral Service:
Saturday, March 18, 2017, 12:00pm
St. John's Lutheran Church
Greenville-Mercer Rd., Greenville, PA
Rev. John Coleman, Pastor, officiating
Burial will be private in Shenango Valley Cemetery
Dr. Jeffry David Madura of Pittsburgh and formerly of Greenville, passed away of a heart attack on Tuesday morning, March 14, 2017.
Jeffry was born on December 15, 1957, the eldest son of Kenneth James and Bonnie (Reinhart) Madura. Jeffry was a 1976 graduate of Reynolds High School. He graduated from Thiel College in 1980 with a B.A. in Chemistry and earned a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Purdue University in 1985. He held a post-doctoral Research Associate position at the University of Houston through 1990.
Dr. Madura was a Professor in the Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Sciences Chemistry and Biochemistry and worked at Duquesne University since 1998. He served as chemistry and biochemistry chair from 2000-2010. Jeffry was named inaugural Lambert F. Minucci Endowed Chair in Engineering and Computational Sciences. He was also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. One of his greatest joys was working with his students and helping them to achieve their goals.
Jeffry is the forever cherished husband of Colleen, beloved son of Bonnie Madura and loving father of Brandon Zimmer Madura and Albert Peyton Madura. He is also survived by his nephew David Madura, his wife Kim and their children Kaley and Logan as well as Jeffry's niece Teri Connelly, her husband Shad and their children Jack and Claire. He leaves behind other family members including his father and mother-in-law Grant and Loretta Jones, his brother-in-law's Grant and Michael Jones and his sister-in-law Laura and their families.
Jeffry was preceded in death by his father and two brothers Brian James Madura and Christopher A. Madura.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 15120 Collections Center Drive, Chicago, IL 60693. Arrangements for Jeffry have been entrusted to Loutzenhiser-Jordan Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Inc., 366-368 S. Main St., Greenville.
Madura family: There are no words for what you have gone through over the past few years. Thinking of and will always be here for all of you. Take care of yourselves and Grandma Bonnie and appreciate every day with each other.
I am sorry that I do not know the rest of the family. My wife who is a grad student at Duquesne informed me of Jeff’s death soon after the news hit campus. Bonnie-you will remember me possibly from my days at Thiel and working in the library for four years (1972-1976). I am so sorry that all of this has occurred. God’s Blessings to all of you.
Bonnie and family, it has been tragic that you have lost your family so suddenly and in such a short time frame. I recall Jeff well from Thiel days and appreciated the help you gave me and thousands of other first and second-year students over your decades of service to Thiel. Also, condolences and blessings to you and family for the loss of your husband previously. Peace and best of wishes to you all.
Condolences and prayers to Bonnie and family. we will call when we return home.
Ron and Elaine Callen
A Friend for a Rainy Day
While Longfellow’s “…,Into each life some rain must fall,…” from the bleak The Rainy Day poem has almost become benign in everyday usage its real import rings true at times. A few March’s ago I stumbled blinded not into a rainy day but into a typhoon that was only the lead storm in a protracted monsoon. In this tempest Jeff was my grounding point, a support, an advisor, a confidant, an anchor, a friend. At work Jeff was an excellent department head, scientist, and author but more significantly he was a leader, advisor, patriarch, and friend to many. He took so much of his valuable time and gave it so willingly to those who came through his door. I cannot count the number of times I dropped by unannounced, using a hollow excuse to borrow models for class, and sat and talked about work, teaching, played with the amazing ever growing menagerie of “toys,” swapped stories and jokes, discussed our families and in so doing braced for the storm. The drizzle has lessened, pale beams of sunlight filter through gloom, but today I am drawn back, for a moment, into The Rainy Day. My thoughts and prayers go to family, colleagues, and all those who Jeff befriended. We are all better off for having known him; he will always be missed.
The Rainy Day
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.
My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past,
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary.
Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Your in my thoughts and prayers, Norma (Holler) Satterlee
While I cannot say I knew Jeffry well, I knew him long. I think we first met back in 1990 or thereabouts when he was still a post-doc. We continued our interactions at various conferences and other chemical events over the years – he was always a great guy to talk to. Open, friendly, knowledgeable about chemistry and how computers could assist chemists. Over the last decade, we shared both a customer/developer relationship with software and an editor/reviewer relationship with chemical literature. I was fortunate to be able to interact with both socially and professionally when he visited Montreal on a sabbatical and for our User’s Group meetings. He would have been a good person to work with and for, and he will be missed.
Colleen, Dave and I want to send our sincere sympathy to you and Jeff’s entire family. You both have been such wonderful neighbors. Jeff always had a smile and wave whenever we would see him. He was such a nice, sweet man. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this difficult time. If you need anything…please know we are here for you. Sincerely, Pat an Dave Arnold
My deepest condolences.
Dr. Jeff Madura was a truly outstanding scholar-teacher and a creative scientific researcher motived by deep sympathy for human suffering. He was a strong supporter of Duquesne’s Spiritan mission. He was also a friend. Among my proudest moments as University president was my role in securing the Minucci Endowed Chair for him in recognition of his years of standout University service. He had a profound positive impact on decades of students and colleagues. He will be sorely missed.
My heart breaks for you Bonnie. I am so sorry to hear of Jeff’s passing. I can not imagine the heartache you are dealing with. I pray God holds you tight as you carry this awful grief. Your boys were wonderful men and they are mourned by many. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
My deepest condolences, and prayers for Madura family.