Ragan Madden

Ragan Dupree Madden (1910 – 1990)^[1][2] was a long-serving public official from Lincoln Parish in North Louisiana. From 1940 to 1949, he was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.^[3] From 1949 to 1979, he was the five-term district attorney for Lincoln and Union parishes.

Legal and political career

Madden was born to Thomas Wade Madden (1874-1938) and the former Virgie Braswell (1883-1964)^[1] in Simsboro in western Lincoln Parish but spent his working life in Ruston, the parish seat of government. He graduated from Simsboro High School, Louisiana State University, and in 1933 the Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge. He graduated a year before another aspiring Louisiana politician, Mayor deLesseps Story Morrison of New Orleans.^[4] Admitted to the practice of law in 1934, he was active in the bar association at all levels and was a partner with state Representative L.D. "Buddy" Napper.^[5] Early in his career, Madden was allied with the Long faction of Louisiana politics.^[6]

In January 1944, as a state legislator, Madden enlisted in the United States Army for World War II service.^[7] In 1956, DA Madden in his second term announced his candidacy in the primary election for Louisiana's 5th congressional district seat held by his fellow Democrat Otto Passman of Monroe.^[5] Passman, however, held the seat from 1947 to 1977, when he was defeated in a primary by Jerry Huckaby, who then beat back the challenge waged by Republican Frank Spooner of Monroe.

In 1968, Madden handled the negligent homicide case against former Major League Baseball player Pinky Higgins, who played for three teams and was the manager of the Boston Red Sox from 1955 to 1965. Higgins pleaded guilty to causing an accident in Simsboro, Louisiana, while he was intoxicated. George W. Killen (1903-1968),^[8] a part of a Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development road crew, was killed as a result, and several other men were injured. Higgins was sentenced to four of the maximum five years in the sentencing guidelines. He was sent to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish in early January 1969 to begin his sentence. "I know that he has a very enviable record. It's just one of those tragic cases," Madden said.^[9] Higgins was paroled after serving only two months of the sentence and died of a heart attack the following day in Dallas, Texas, at the age of fifty-nine.^[10]

After he had left the district attorney's office, Madden opened his personal lands, mainly in Lincoln Parish, to hunters and sportsmen in all seasons so long as they complied with legal regulations. After the harvest of timber, Madden, a conservationist, said that he would make certain that food-producing hardwood trees remain for the use of birds and other wildlife.^[11]

Personal life

In 1936, Madden married the former Margaret Elizabeth Burt (1914-2010), who was also a native of Simsboro. She was the daughter of Robert Emmett Burt and the former Marie Strain. She graduated from Simsboro High School, attended Dodd College in Shreveport, and the obtained her degree from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, where she was a member of Kappa Delta sorority. While Mrs. Madden was Southern Baptist,^[12] Madden was a member of the United Methodist Church.^[5]

The first name in Ragan Madden Park in Simsboro is misspelled on the sign as "Regan".

The Maddens had three surviving children, Dr. Ragan Burt Madden (born c. 1938) of Little Rock, Arkansas, Betty Madden Harrison and husband, John; and Marilyn Madden Hill (born c. 1946), both of Shreveport. The couple is interred at Simsboro Cemetery.^[12] A Madden granddaughter, Margaret Elizabeth Harrison (1966-2008), was a graduate of and a teacher at Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport who died of cancer three days before her 42nd birthday.^[13]

The firm Napper, Madden (Raymond Madden, a cousin of Ragan Madden), and Rogers continues to operate in Ruston. The third partner, Republican Thomas Wynn "Tommy" Rogers (born November 1952), was elected on December 6, 2014 to a seat on the 3rd Judicial District Court. He defeated Democrat Lewis Jones, 9,702 (52 percent) to 8,971 (48 percent).^[14]

Ragan Madden Park in Simsboro is named in his honor.

References