Troy 30-C to dedicate Troy Middle School gym in Plainfield to former board member on Friday

A longtime member of the Troy Community Consolidated School District 30-C School Board will soon be a part of a lasting legacy.

Troy 30-C made changes to the Troy Middle School gymnasium this past summer and will dedicate the space to J. Terry McFadden at 6 p.m. Friday in honor of his service and commitment to youth sports. The community is invited.

Troy Middle School is located at 5800 W. Theodore St. in Plainfield.

The dedication ceremony will be “brief, respectful and celebratory,” a Troy school district official said in a news release. Members of McFadden’s family and other community members are expected to attend.

McFadden, who died June 11, 2020, at age 70 was only age 28 when he was first elected to the Troy school board, and his service spanned more than 40 years. He worked with every Troy superintendent from Don Bacon to Todd Koehl.

“When he saw that someone was being unfairly represented or not listened to, that’s when he would go against everyone else on the school board and be their voice,” McFadden’s wife said in the story. “I think that was one of the most endearing things I saw in my husband. He was on that school board to be the voice of everyone who needed to be heard.”

Larry Wiers, former teacher and superintendent at Troy Community School District 30-C, said in the 2020 story that longevity’s such as McFadden’s is unique.

And because McFadden also was a longtime teacher, Wiers said he saw the value of education and he saw this as way to contribute.

“If you’re going to be on a board for 40 years, that means your community kept putting you back there nine or 10 times,” Wiers said. “Terry stayed right on with us to the end, which is an amazing dedication to education.”

Born and raised in Joliet, Terry played sports at Belmont Little League and at St. Joe’s Park in Joliet, according to Susan McFadden, Terry’s wife of almost 50 years.

Terry McFadden attended the former St. Mary Magdalene School in Joliet, St. Jude School in New Lenox and the former Joliet East High school, where Susan said he was the star pitcher of Joliet East’s baseball team.

He earned a Bachelor of Science in education from Illinois State University, a Master of Science in educational administration from Northern Illinois University and continued with post-graduate studies throughout his 35-year teaching career at Downers Grove North and South high schools, where McFadden taught rhetoric, the release said. He retired in 2007.

During his time at Downers Grove, Terry McFadden was an assistant baseball coach, a peer mentor and taught rhetoric at Joliet Junior College.

Terry McFadden also served as a junior high, high school and college basketball official while frequenting downstate events in those capacities, which included twice officiating the IHSA State Finals. He later was given an Official of the Year honor for his time volunteered.

In addition, Terry McFadden coached many local baseball leagues as a volunteer. He coached his three sons and many athletes from the Shorewood area.

Gary Perinar of Shorewood said he was about age 11 when he first had Terry McFadden for a coach, the benefits of those teaching skills staying with him.

“A good coach can change a game,” Perinar said. “But a great coach can change a life.”