Remembering Sterling Maddox Jr.
Age 78, Arlington, Va.
Passed away on March 24, 2020
He always broke the rules at the facility to deliver breakfast and coffee to his girlfriend in another room. And while Parkinson’s disease made it difficult for Maddox to use his cellphone, he still managed to check in on loved ones and friends — even in his final days.
Maddox, who was known as Ruffin, died on March 24 at his assisted-living facility of complications from the novel coronavirus. He was 78. The family received results that he tested positive for the virus eight days after his death.
“People wanted to be his friend, and he wanted to be their friend in return,” his daughter Katharine Maddox said. “He had so many friends. It was really beautiful.”
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Ruffin Maddox, a trained civil engineer, was born and raised in Montgomery County and only crossed the Potomac River in the past decade to live nearby his daughters and beloved grandsons in Northern Virginia. He served a brief stint in the Maryland legislature five decades ago and later became a developer, helping to establish neighborhoods in the region. He then served as a real estate agent for Washington Fine Properties for nearly 15 years.
Katharine Maddox said her father befriended everyone, from his clients to strangers on the street. He talked to his two daughters every day.
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“He would just put out his hand to anyone and say, ‘Hi, I’m Ruffin,’ ” she said.
After he died, a man whom she didn’t know called Katharine Maddox to offer condolences: The man had talked regularly and remained friends with her father years after he sold him a home.
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Ruffin Maddox was a loyal Washington Redskins and Nationals fan and loved taking his grandsons to games. In the fall, his daughters took him to see his grandson Henry play his opening senior football game at Yorktown High School in Arlington. He couldn’t always follow Henry on the field, but his daughters explained the plays to him.
“He was just so proud,” Katharine Maddox said.
The younger Maddox said she and her sister, Jennifer Sergent, last saw their father on March 12 — days before he started showing symptoms. Katharine Maddox decided to stay late with him that evening because she knew the facility would soon prohibit visitors in an attempt to contain the spread of the coronavirus. That evening, she helped her father call his friends and family to chat on the phone.
When he became sick, staff at the senior facility helped the family speak on the phone with him. Katharine Maddox explained why she wasn’t there with him. “It is what it is,” he said.
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Two days before his death, she told him she loved him and shared news that his stepson was engaged to a woman he adored. He was elated to hear the news.
“I’m so thankful for our last phone call,” she said. “But I’m so sad I wasn’t there. My dad and I always thought I would be there for his last breath and I would help him through it. ”
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Ruffin Maddox, a trained civil engineer, was born and raised in Montgomery County and only crossed the Potomac River in the past decade to live nearby his daughters and beloved grandsons in Northern Virginia. He served a brief stint in the Maryland legislature five decades ago and later became a developer, helping to establish neighborhoods in the region. He then served as a real estate agent for Washington Fine Properties for nearly 15 years.
Katharine Maddox said her father befriended everyone, from his clients to strangers on the street. He talked to his two daughters every day.
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