William Michael Madden

William M. Madden, 97, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, at home surrounded by his loving family. He lived in Freehold Borough all of his adult life after spending some of his early years on a farm in Perrineville. Bill was born January 24, 1928. He is preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn Baynton Madden, his parents Michael and Anna Gilluly Madden, his Aunt who raised him after his mother's death at age nine, Josie Gilluly Scanlon, his brother, Mickey, his sister, Margaret, and his son-in-law Michael Scanlon.

Bill married Marilyn Baynton on June 17, 1951. They were married 64 years until Marilyn's passing in 2015. Surviving are their six children; Glen and Diane, Sharon and Ken McCauley, Maureen and William "Pete" Petersen, Janice and John McDonough, Linda Scanlon and Gary and Margie. Grandchildren are Jennifer McCauley (Preston), Erin Liberto (Mat), Ryan McCauley (Melissa), Brian Rowe (Cat), John Petersen (Becky), Kevin Rowe (Jaime), Jeff Rowe (Tara), Meagan Taglione (Tony), Caitlin Thompson (Matt), Michael McDonough (Jylian), Bill Scanlon (Brittany), Tom Scanlon (Amanda), Gregory Mullarkey (Jackie), Eileen Bye (Rob) and more than thirty great-grandchildren. He also leaves behind several cousins and many nieces and nephews.

Bill enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 18. After basic training at Naval Training Center Bainbridge in Port Deposit, MD, he served on the destroyer USS Corry (DD-817) with primary duty station in Naples, Italy. In recognition of his service to our country, on July 4, 2025, Bill was honored by the Borough of Freehold with his name added to the street sign at the corner of South Street and Vredenburgh Avenue. Included in his many acts of service to the town were more than 70 years in leadership roles in the Freehold First Aid Squad and more than 45 years on the Board of Health.

He was a dedicated family man with a strong work ethic, often working multiple jobs to support the family. Other than his career positions at the rug mill until it closed circa 1964 and many years at Nestle where he retired in 1988 as a department supervisor, he also worked part time as a USPS mail carrier, a house painter and assisted Freeman Funeral Home in serving the community. Well into his 80s he was an avid outdoorsman and always kept a well-trained bird dog for their outings during pheasant season. He also took many deer from the NJ and NY woods.

Bill and Marilyn enjoyed travel and experienced many memorable trips across North America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region. They cherished every chance they had to spend a day at the beach in Manasquan…usually as part of a large family encampment on the sand. Most recently, in April 2025, Bill got to experience the British Virgin Islands at a villa on the beach with his children and their spouses. In 2017, this same travel group visited Ireland and spent time in Bill's ancestral village of Castleconnell near Limerick. At the age of 91 he visited Scotland.

The family and the community will be diminished by his absence. All shall cherish his memory, the things he taught us and, most importantly, how to treat one another while always doing the right thing.

Services are under the management of Freeman Funeral Home. Friends and family are invited to visit on Monday, July 28th from 4:00PM to 8:00PM at Freeman Funeral Home, 47 East Main Street, Freehold. A mass will be celebrated at St. Rose of Lima church where Bill was a devout parishioner on Tuesday, July 29th at 10:30AM. Interment will be at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, part of the land for which was formerly owned by Bill's ancestors and donated to the parish.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Bill's memory to Freehold Emergency Medical Services 18 Spring Street Freehold, NJ 07728 or on-line through their website www.freeholdems.org.