Patrick Jay Madigan June 5, 1967-November 26, 2022
Word of Pat Madigan’s untimely passing spread quickly on Saturday morning, November 26, 2022, and right away, for so many across the United States and Canada, the stories about him began pouring out. In one way or another, most of them had to do with Pat’s enormous heart.
It was that heart that had made him such a ferocious competitor as a high school and college hockey star. His heart that made him such a great teammate and admired leader. His heart that fired his passion for coaching youth hockey. His heart that led to his concern for the underdog and inspired his secret volunteer work for the needy and for his concern for those who suffered. His heart that fueled his fierce love for his children and stepchildren and for each member of his large family.
There is a tendency to think that a heart like that will beat forever, but Pat’s physical heart gave out on that Saturday morning, at the age of 55. Yet it will beat on in the hearts of the legions of people who knew and loved him.
A day after Pat died, Lyle Wildgoose, Pat’s teammate on the Providence College Friars hockey team, organized a Zoom call. Nineteen grieving teammates and a coach joined it. More wanted to, but had conflicts.
“Gone way too soon,” said one of them, Mark Romaine, a goalie for the Friars. “As I listen, there’s a common theme here. Everyone seems to say the same thing about Pat. We’ve all been thinking about him a lot over the last couple of days. Pat was just a wonderful human being. He was an amazing locker room guy, hysterical in the locker room, and got us through a lot of ups and downs. He was an amazing leader. Everybody looked up to him. He just treated everyone with the utmost respect, I guess the way he would want to be treated. Just an amazing, amazing guy.
“You can never reconcile losing somebody like that this soon,” Mark said. “But I think one thing that will help everybody and hopefully will help Pat’s family is that we were very lucky to have Pat, extremely lucky to have been teammates and friends of his. Those are memories we will hold onto forever.”
Patrick Jay Madigan was born in Crookston, Minn., on June 5, 1967, the fifth of seven children born to Myke and Lois Madigan. In his younger years, he was known in the family as “Tank” because he was built like one. He was a three-sport athlete at Crookston Central High School and one of the finest hockey players to come out of his hometown.
After his high school graduation in 1985, he spent two years playing junior hockey in Iowa in the United States Hockey League, making lifelong friends. One of those Iowa teammates, Mike Roberts, joined the Zoom call with the Providence College players.
“I was one of a handful of guys from Boston playing out there. That was not a common practice back then,” Mike said. “Pat was larger than life. He was the captain of our team and took a skinny little kid from Boston that talked funny, didn’t know one thing about what was going on and he took me under his wing. He became my brother that year and we’ve never lost touch.”
Pat went on to earn a scholarship to play hockey at Providence College, and was the team captain of the Friars his senior season in 1991.
On the Zoom call, his Providence coach, Mike McShane, recalled meeting Pat and Pat’s son, Sean, a few years ago at an alumni hockey tournament. The coach gave Sean pieces of Providence College hockey gear.
“I’ll never forget that,” Coach McShane said. “His son was such a nice, disciplined young man. Pat was so emotional about it. We hugged for a while and I appreciated that. I appreciate the fact that I was lucky enough to coach him and have him as a captain, because he was a real true leader.
“He had a temper, there was no question about that. Once in a while, I would just put my arm around him and say, “Calm down, Patty boy. Calm down.’ And he would say, ‘I will if you will.’ It all worked out though. We had a great group of guys. We had some great moments. The crew here is very, very loyal to each other and from a coach’s perspective, that’s the most important thing.”
Shortly after his college graduation, at a ceremony in Crookston on July 13, 1991, Pat married Carma Rodela, his high school sweetheart. The couple had two children, Sean and Mackenzie.
“Everything with Pat was for the family,” Carma said. “He came from a deep-rooted family and he supported the kids in their activities and he took time for them. He was very affectionate and loving and the kids knew that he loved them. Mackenzie is sharing pictures from those times with me now, and I think she’s realizing how important those times were. We all tend to forget that. Pat was a good dad. The bottom line was that he would battle for his kids.”
After college, Pat began a business career in Indianapolis, before moving to the Twin Cities in 1995. He became active in youth hockey, coaching several players who went on to successful college and professional careers. Pat had a special concern for players who were struggling off the ice. His family found out after the fact about his volunteer work with disabled people.
“He told me, ‘It was just my thing to do,’” Carma said. “He just cared. He just had such a big heart. Maybe he cared too much. Sometimes, those sorts of people care so much that they run out of room for themselves.”
The marriage of Pat and Carma ended about a decade ago, after a period of business setbacks and personal struggles. In the last eight years of his life, Pat was part of the family of his fiancé, Molly Davies, and her three children, John Lyman, Thomas Lyman and Kelly Lyman. Pat was deeply grateful for the love of Molly, and took great joy in being a part of the lives of her children.
“His smiling, beautiful blue Irish eyes is what drew me to him, but it was the kindness behind those eyes that I most adored,” Molly said. “And Pat was the best dad to my kids that any kid could ask for. The impact he had on them will last the rest of their lives.”
In the days after his passing, family and friends across North America tried to balance the joy of the memories of Pat’s life with the sad reality of a person who was gone much too soon.
On the Zoom call, his Providence teammates talked about establishing hockey school scholarships in his name. They also had been reminded of how much they meant to each other, and made plans to gather in Pat’s name and raise a glass to their fallen friend.
“I was thinking about all the teammates that I’ve had in my career,” said Jeff Serowik, another Friars teammate who went on to play in the NHL. “Pat was a guy who never had an enemy. Ferocious competitor. Great athlete who would go through the wall for you as a teammate. So it’s a huge loss. It sucks because everyone struggles in life.”
On the Zoom call, Another Providence teammate, Larry Rooney, summed it up. “Pat was like a brother to all of us.”
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Pat is survived by his son Sean and Sean’s partner, Jamie Marsh; daughter Mackenzie; his siblings, Tim Madigan and his wife, Catherine; Christi Madigan; Michael Madigan; Kelly Madigan; and Terri Madigan O’Neill and her husband, Jay; Other survivors include Carma Madigan; Molly Davies and her children, John Lyman, Thomas Lyman and Kelly Lyman; and several nieces and nephews, Patrick Madigan and Melanie Ford; Aedan and Mairenn O’Neill; Riley and Joseph Madigan; Tim and Tyler Madigan; and one granddaughter, Nayelli. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Steve.
Services: Visitation on Thursday, December 1, 4-8 p.m. at Simple Traditions by Bradshaw, 671 Snelling Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55116. Friday visitation at 10 a.m. followed by an 11 a.m. funeral at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 515 South Albert Street, St. Paul.
A memorial fund has been established in Pat’s name on Venmo. You can link to the fund with the user name @Patmadigan. Checks to the Patrick Madigan Memorial Fund can also be sent to Jay O’Neill at 1346 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55105.
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