Community Mourns The Loss Of Maddi Misheloff

DUBLIN, CA — Madelyne "Maddi" Misheloff, a longtime Dublin resident with deep community roots, passed peacefully Saturday morning at age 71 after a nearly two-year-long battle with bladder cancer.

She and her husband, Mike Misheloff, lived in Dublin since 1978, he said. She was a people person who forged strong bonds with many in the community, liked to volunteer her time and had a great determination to get things done, Mr. Misheloff said.

Some Dublin residents might remember her from her leadership on the Dublin San Ramon Services District Board of Directors, her work with the Dublin Lions Club St. Patrick's Day Parade or the many times she flipped burgers and grilled hot dogs at community events such as Dublin Pride Week.

"Maddi cared so much about our community, and brought a cheer, positive energy, and hard work to her service of our community," said former Assemblymember Catharine Baker. "Her passing is a loss for our town and our broader Tri-Valley, and I am grateful for her life and service to others."

Others may recall her name from the annual candlelight walk the Misheloffs have held in honor of daughter Ilene, who disappeared at age 13, on Jan. 30, 1989 while heading home from Wells Middle School. The walk is held each year along the route she took to and from school.

"Maddi’s enduring love for her daughter was an inspiration to all parents," Dublin Mayor David Haubert said in an email.

Misheloff used the experience as motivation to support efforts to find missing children, giving TV interviews, participating in events and fundraisers, and helping families going through the same thing, her husband said.

"There was no question that she was going to help out the local and beyond local organizations which were involved in publicizing and trying to recover missing children," said Mr. Misheloff.

A City of Dublin spokesperson said in an email that Misheloff's search for her daughter never wavered and the city hopes she is now at peace, though it is deeply saddened by her passing. She was a valued volunteer and friend, the City of Dublin said.

She knew many in the Dublin community and was exceptionally friendly, Mr. Misheloff said.

He recalled introducing his wife to a colleague at a company party years ago. His co-worker came away from the 20-minute conversation feeling like Misheloff was a best friend, he said.

"That was how she was," Mr. Misheloff said.

Once Misheloff set her mind to something, she did it, friends say.

She was appointed to a vacant DSRSD board seat in 2015, was elected in 2016 and served as the board's most recent past president, according to a board statement.

She oversaw and advocated for significant DSRSD projects during her tenure, including: the Tri-Valley Joint Potable Reuse Technical Feasibility Study to diversify the long-term water supply; the creation of the Citizens Water Academy to educate the community and encourage others to participate on the board; the expansion of the Jeffrey G. Hansen Water Recycling Plant to nearly double recycled water treatment capacity; and the purchase and rehabilitation of the Field Operations Facility, which came in handy when a flood displaced staff.

“Maddi was always committed to serving the District, and had the community’s best interest at heart,” said DSRSD Board President Ed Duarte said in the statement.

Misheloff was wonderful to work with, was always pleasant and walked with purpose, said DSRSD spokesperson Sue Stephenson.

"I don't think she ever walked slowly," Stephenson said.

Even when Misheloff learned she had cancer, she was determined to fight, her husband said. She went through treatments and procedures, and would only entertain thoughts of recovery until her last few months, Mr. Misheloff said.

Maddi — a native of Neptune, New Jersey — liked to joke and tell others that she was born in the same hospital as Jack Nicholson. Her would-be husband was born in Brooklyn, New York, but their paths first crossed many years later by coincidence in Southern California, Misheloff said.

They were both on trips to the Golden State while on spring break. Her brother, who knew Mike from college, introduced Misheloff to her future husband.

They hit it off. Mr. Misheloff said he wrote her letters ("I was a very rigorous correspondent") and saw her from time to time.

"It was really a long-distance romance," he said.

Mr. Misheloff, five years her senior, finished up graduate school and moved to Princeton, New Jersey to be closer to his then-girlfriend, a student of biology and medical technology at American University in Washington, D.C.

"It was essentially where I was, she was," he said.

They married in 1971 and spent nearly 50 years together as husband and wife.

The Misheloffs moved to Nebraska, where they welcomed three children, a "family of cornhuskers," he said. Three years later the Misheloffs moved to the Bay Area, where they chose to remain.

Misheloff is survived by her husband, sons Brian and Robert Misheloff, granddaughters Maddie and Lauren Misheloff, brother Stephan Abramson and their families.

The Misheloff family plans to have a celebration of life after shelter-in-place restrictions are lifted.