David Bruce Oliver Madwar

David was born in England to Dr. Amin Madwar and Ms. Rita Oliver Scott, on the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. Dr. A. Madwar operated a cherished medical practice on the island for over four decades. He and Rita were blessed with two children: Alan, born in 1932 and David, born in 1935. Sadly, Rita passed away from natural causes when David was only a child of five years. His brother, Alan, preceded David in death in 2015 at the age of 83.

Raised in wartime England, those on Sheppey had a front row seat strangely secure from the terror of the nightly bombings on London. Those early childhood experiences of loss, frailty and great bravery shaped his values, virtues and immense gratitude for the remainder of his years.

His father, and grandfather before him, graduated from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. It was naturally assumed by the family that he would continue in this proud tradition. However, David had tremendous love of art and initially hoped to become a great illustrator.

Hoping to find the streets of America “paved with gold”, David moved to Philadelphia in 1961 and stumbled upon lifelong employment as a draftsman. Self-taught, he could always be seen with at least one (if not two) pens in his breast pocket. Equally skilled with a both a pencil and paintbrush, Winslow Homer was his chief artistic inspiration. Watercolor was his medium and English homes, gardens, cliffs and the sea were his favorite subjects

David generally declined to sell any of his paintings. He preferred to give them to family as it was his most direct means of sharing himself with loved ones.

David had many great loves: architecture, and British history among them. However nothing could surpass his joy from good book and a faithful dog (typically a Jack Russell Terrier).

 A dedicated father, teacher and task master, his core values included integrity, organization and honest feedback. There was no ego fluffing allowed.

David leaves behind his wife of 45 years, Sandra Madwar. She and David wed in 1977. They shared a love of the sea, the English countryside and good laugh. She willingly spoiled him with thoughtful and loving attention. However, the Jack Russell Terriers would always fight for top billing in his heart.

David has two adult children from his earlier marriage: Dr. Victoria Madwar-Ewing (her Husband, Jeff and their three children: Jordan, Madison and Morgan) and her brother, Dr. Scott Madwar (his wife, Karen and their two children: Colin and Olivia). The youngest grandchild, Olivia was determined to be a favorite and showered Grandy with attention (almost managing to edge-out the twice aforementioned terrier).

Sandra has four children from her earlier marriage that she and David raised together: Tracy, Donna, John and Alex. The eldest daughter, Tracy and her husband (Tim Higginbotham) are blessed to have produced to have Sandra’s only grandchild: Rebekah (all in Evansville, IN. Both Donna and John have passed (she in an automobile accident, he of natural causes). The youngest son, Alex Scull resides in San Francisco.

During his last chapter, David was blessed with not one, but two “guardian angels”. The first, his daughter by birth, Victoria and the second, by marriage to his son, Karen. Both worked with tireless dedication to provide safe passage for David.

In Lieu of flowers please donate generously to Avow Hospice of Naples, Florida and Capital City Hospice of Columbus, Ohio. Their care and compassion was of great comfort to our family.