Robert Paul Madrulli

Robert Paul Madrulli Robert Paul Madrulli was born in Boston, MA on September 15, 1929, the first of two children to Angiolo and Italia Madrulli. Bob was a friendly, energetic man with an inquisitive mind. He had a wide variety of interests and enjoyed a profound appreciation of nature. His favorite hobbies involved a variety of outdoor activities. He instilled a love for the beauty of nature in his children and grandchildren who often participated with him in his outdoor adventures. Bob's parents emigrated from Italy in the 1920's and were employed at Elmwood, a large pre-revolutionary estate in Cambridge, MA. He spent his boyhood years there, eventually graduating from Rindge Tech, earning a scholarship to MIT where he received a B.S. degree in chemical engineering in 1951. Upon graduation he started his 42 year long career with DuPont. On June 2, 1952 Bob married his lifelong dancing partner, Trudy Galvin, starting a family soon after settling in Wilmington, Delaware. Their family eventually included six children, Kathy Rogers, Peter Madrulli (Cindy), Kenneth Madrulli (Barbara), Nancy McNeish (Jerry), Liz Scruggs (Faron), and Susan Goodgion (Tim). Bob and Trudy have 12 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. While living in Wilmington, Bob became interested in collecting minerals from abandoned quarries on the east coast. He always included his children on these treks. We enjoyed many hours tramping through the wilderness climbing over rocks in search of interesting specimens for his collection. In 1968 Bob moved the family to Beaumont, Texas where he worked until retirement in 1993. While living in southeast Texas, Bob got involved with the Sierra Club and Audubon Society and was soon tramping around the Big Thicket on bird counts and hiking in the Grand Canyon. He always brought back a collection of beautiful slides from his journeys which he shared with friends and family. His love of the natural world eventually found its way into his professional life as several of his final projects for DuPont earned awards for cleaning up the environment. Upon retirement in 1993 Bob and Trudy moved to Austin where they joined the folk dancing community TIFD. When not puttering around in his beautiful backyard, Bob could be found pursuing his interest in wood working. He, hand built many pieces of furniture in his home and eventually completed a piece of furniture for each of his six children. He volunteered his time at Pioneer Farms. and the George Washington Carver Museum where his skills as a craftsman were used repairing various historic objects from their displays. After their children had grown and left home Bob and Trudy turned their affections to a boxer named Barney who could soon became a loyal walking partner of Bob's , always to be found at his side. Big Mac and Lily, all equally loyal and loved by Bob, followed Barney in time. In the last years of his life Bob enjoyed many Alzheimer's respite programs including Circle of Friends at Beth-Israel, The Gathering at WHPC, and the Senior Retreat at Town Lake YMCA. A celebration of his life will be held at his home on Wednesday the 19th of December from 6 o'clock to 8 o'clock in the evening, with a graveside service to be held at a later date at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston. Condolences may be sent to www.cookwaldenfuneralhome.com