In Memoriam: Thomas H. “Tuck” Maddux III

A memorial service for the 20-year member of the Board of Visitors and Governors was held on the morning of Monday, June 26 in Brooklandville, Maryland.

Tuck Maddux (left) and Geoff Rogers at a senior luncheon. Thomas H. “Tuck” Maddux III P ’78 GP ’18, a long-standing supporter of Washington College, died on June 15. He was 95. The Maddux family has deep ties to the College, with one of Maddux’s daughters, his daughter-in-law, and a grandson graduating from Washington.  

In addition to his two decades of service on the Board, Maddux supported many capital projects at Washington College, including the John S. Toll Science Center, the Johnson Fitness Center, the Gibson Center for the Arts, and the Hodson Boathouse. His service and philanthropy helped shape today’s campus and the wide range of academic and community life it enjoys. 

Maddux served on the trustees, financial affairs, and investment committees of the Board and was known as a staunch defender of fiscal responsibility. When he stepped down from the Board in 2021, his fellow trustees approved a resolution that noted, in part, “In recognition of the tremendous esteem in which we hold him as a compatriot, adviser, and champion for the liberal arts, we hereby formally recognize Tuck Maddux to have served the Board with the highest distinction.” 

Maddux’s public service extended beyond Washington College. While he was Maryland’s secretary of economic and community development in the mid 1980s, he also served on the governor’s Employment and Training Council and was chairman of the Maryland Board of Higher Education. Education was a theme in his board service, as he also sat on the boards of the Maryland Science Center and St. Paul’s School. 

Professionally, Maddux had a distinguished career as an executive first with Black & Decker, then Baltimore-based Easco Corp., which made Craftsman brand tools. After his service in state government, he founded and ran American Stone Mix Co. until he retired and sold the business in 2002. 

Maddux is survived by his children Holly L. Maddux, Jenny M. Washburne ’78 (Thomas), and Thomas H. Maddux, IV (Jean Merrick Maddux '82); seven grandchildren, including Austin Maddux ’18, and one great-grandchild; and brother Franklin Webster "Webb" Maddux. 

A Memorial Service was celebrated in the chapel at St. Paul's School, 11152 Falls Road, Brooklandville, Maryland on Monday, June 26 at 11:00 a.m.