Peggy Madera earned a national reputation for her skills as a special education teacher and was particularly known for her work guiding blind and visually impaired students toward lives of fulfillment and independence.
“Peggy began teaching me in preschool, and then continued right on through high school,” said Sandra Murillo, blind since age 2 and now working as a journalist and an associate producer on Chicago’s “The Beacon” radio show, which deals with visual impairment issues. “To me, she was not only an extraordinary teacher but a loyal friend and mentor. She was patient and kind and could brighten even my darkest hours.”
From 1998 to 2000, Mrs. Madera also served as president of the Virginia-based Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, where former colleagues described her as smart, funny and supportive.
“Her sense of humor helped me through many difficult times,” said Billy Brookshire, Mrs. Madera’s successor and a former association president. “Once, during a board meeting, the discussion got so hot and heated we called a break. When I returned, there was a plastic frog in my water glass — Peggy’s attempt at lightening things up — that struck a chord with all of us.
“From that moment on, the frog became our mascot. To this day, it brings a smile to my face.”
Mrs. Madera, 60, recipient of the association’s first Citation of Excellence Award for leadership in 1986, died of complications related to nonalcoholic cirrhosis of the liver Friday, May 15, at Rush University Medical Center, her family said. She was a resident of Oak Lawn.
“For Peggy, no child had too many challenges or was too challenging,” said former association board member Mary Nelle McLennan, who is vice chairwoman of the Braille Authority of North America. “She never regarded them as ‘disabled’ — rather, she saw them as ‘not yet abled,’ and she created brilliant, innovative lessons and opportunities through which they could develop their abilities.”
Born Peggy Heffernan, Mrs. Madera grew up in the city’s Roseland neighborhood on the South Side. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, she received a master’s degree in blind rehabilitation from Western Michigan University.
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As a mother of two, she began her teaching career in the late 1970s, working as a special education teacher for elementary and high school students in the south suburbs. Mrs. Madera, firmly believing that learning should be fun, used her creative touch to add songs, humor and laughter to her lessons, former colleagues said.
“I remember her bringing me to schools where she taught to meet her students,” her son Marty said. “My brother and I learned from a very young age how to interact with people with disabilities in a respectful and engaging way. She was so proud of them — their individuality and their achievements.”
Most recently, Mrs. Madera was on the staff of the nonprofit group Exceptional Children Have Opportunities in South Holland, where for many years she taught orientation and mobility to blind students, before stepping down in 2012 when her health began to fail.
“As a teacher, as a professional, Peggy was remarkable,” McLennan said. “She was extraordinary. She was singular in her creativity and her commitment.”
Other survivors include her husband of 35 years, Aurelio; another son, Eric; her parents, Richard and Connie Heffernan; two brothers, Richard Heffernan and Daniel Heffernan; and three sisters, Maureen Heffernan, Nancy Heffernan and Kathy Cuba.
Services were held.
Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.