Former Highland High School Vice Principal William “Maddog” Madura died Saturday. He was 67, according to his obituary.

“He was happy,” said his sister Jeanne Kerosky. “Always had a smile on his face. He always made every person feel a part of the school and feel welcome.”

For 43 years, Madura worked from teacher up to vice principal at the School Town of Highland where he embraced students and wanted to motivate them to be their best, she said.

“He had no children. The students were so important to him,” Kerosky said. “He did everything he could to get them to succeed, to get them to graduate, to help them along.”

Along the way came his colloquial nickname: “Maddog.”

Madura never quite understood where it came from, Kerosky said.

The “mad” was for Madura and “dog” possibly referred to sometimes he could get angry, but also treated students with gentleness and respect, he said in a 2016 Highland High student news article.

At home, he enjoyed painting and gardening, his wife, Christine, a retired Highland Middle School English teacher said. Born in East Chicago, he lived briefly in Whiting before moving as a child to Highland, Kerosky said.

A 1969 Highland High School graduate, Madura earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 1973. He won Indiana Artist of the Year in 1974, according to his obituary.

He and his wife met that year, she said.

Madura worked for 18 years at Highland Jr. High School before becoming Fine Arts Coordinator for the School Town of Highland. He later moved to vice principal at Highland High School, according to the obituary. He was also involved with the Northern Indiana Art Center, serving as program director for five years.

“Bill had a great personality to work with kids,” Superintendent Brian Smith said. “He was an incredible art teacher and an even better assistant principal.

“One parent stopped me yesterday and said her (child) struggled in high school, but would not have graduated had Mr. Madura not been there for him,” he said via email.

Madura retired in 2016, according to an article in the Trojan Tribune, Highland High School’s student newspaper. After 43 years, he said he would miss the people, but not “the drama, because it is hard to work out.”

“He cared for his students as if they were his own children,” Highland High School Principal Patrick Weil said via email. “That is how he will be remembered.”

In addition to his wife, Madura is survived by his sisters, Carolyn Bender and Jeanne Kerosky, brother-in-law Raymond Kerosky, sister-in-law Nancy Fick, nephew and godson Conrad Kerosky and other nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at Hillside Funeral Home, 8941 Kleinman Road, in Highland, from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday. The funeral will begin at 6 p.m.