It is with a heavy heart that Freedom High School (FHS) has to say goodbye to long time business teacher and beloved colleague Ronald William Madouse, who died April 15.

Before his passing, Mr. Madouse had been with the Bethlehem Area School District since 1992. He was an established accounting and business teacher at FHS since 2000. Although, he was primarily a teacher and adviser at Freedom, Mr. Madouse taught at Nitschmann MS for quite sometime before moving to Freedom. Additionally, he was very involved with the Whitehall community.

Mr. Madouse, a 1980 graduate of Whitehall HS, was an all-star high school basketball player, and he also played baseball. After receiving his degree from Bloomsburg University in 1984 and his MBA from Wilmington College in 1990, Mr. Madouse returned to Whitehall HS in 2004 to coach the junior varsity basketball team.

Mr. Madouse provided the same level of professionalism and concern for his students as he did the teaching staff. His fellow colleagues thought of him with the utmost respect not only as an accounting teacher, but also as a person.

"I think it is impossible to find somebody that had a negative thought or negative word about Mr. Madouse," said Michael LaPorta, principal of FHS.

That respect could be seen at his funeral, which was well attended by friends and family, childhood friends, Whitehall students, college friends, and other members of the community.

"I cannot tell you the number of kids who have come back and have told him what a great teacher he was and how he had prepared them for going away for college," said FHS Athletic Director Diane Jordan.

Mrs. Jordan, along with business teachers Brad Bloszinsky and Robert Petrosky, worked very closely with Mr. Madhouse during his time at Freedom. Mr. Bloszinsky said his favorite memory of Mr. Madouse was their lunches together as a department.

"He often said our lunch room antics and conversations should have been recorded, so he could look back at those," Mr. Bloszinsky said.

Around the school, Mr. Madouse was known to be quiet, yet helpful to others when needed. In addition to the accounting courses he taught, Mr. Madouse was the adviser of several clubs over the years, such as DECA and the Financial Club. Most recently, he worked with Freedom's chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). As the adviser, he assisted students as they competed in regional and state business competitions, which impacted the students in a positive way.

The memories and positive interactions that Mr. Madouse created at Freedom and in the surrounding community with family, friends, colleagues, and students will continue to shine.

"He was a very nice man, and we talked a lot about sports everyday after class. He will be dearly missed by all," said sophmore Michael Mele.

Caitlin McCadden is a junior at Freedom HS and a student reporter for the Bethlehem Press.