Roll Call Tribute

Donald Dean "Don" Maddox 

December 30, 1948 - March 2, 2024 

Don Maddox passed away at the age of 75 on March 2nd, 2024, after a long struggle with illness, in his home in State Line, Pennsylvania. He is survived by his sister Sharon Richmond of Maryland, brother Ron Maddox and wife Carla or Pennsylvania, 3 children, John Maddox and wife Keenya of Pennsylvania, Victoria Maddox of Virginia, and Lauren Maddox of Iowa, as well as 4 grandchildren, Hunter, Sophia, Lucy, and James. Don passed quietly and peacefully listening to old Yankees’ games and holding his son’s hand.

Don was born in Texas City, Texas and attended Texas A&M University and the University of Chicago. He began his career in education but wore many hats, including contract work for the government as well as the private sector, and a long stint with his passion, chess, as the editor of Chess Life magazine, correspondent for USA Today, and later as president of Chess Base USA. Well-traveled, Don spent extended periods of time living in Texas, Illinois, Israel, Virginia, Alabama, New Jersey, Colorado, and West Virginia before retiring to Pennsylvania in 2018 to live with his son’s family.

Don enjoyed many hobbies, including baseball and other sports, history, literature, and poetry, but he discovered his true passion in his early twenties when he discovered the game of chess. He was lucky to have the opportunity to combine his passion with his career for many years, and luckier still to be able to combine two of his passions, chess, and education. Don joined the Wall High School faculty in Wall, New Jersey as chess coach in the early 90’s and led the team to the state championship and continued taking every opportunity to teach chess to students throughout the rest of his life.