One of our viewers, Chris Prewitt, reminded us via Facebook that Monday would have been the 36th birthday of Alan Madden ... you may remember the story of the little 5-year-old Quincy boy who was beaten to death in 1981.
Madden's mother and her boyfriend were found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years each in prison.
No one knows where they are today, but the city of Quincy rallied for Alan upon his death and continues to show support for him to this day with mementos and trinkets being brought to his grave at Graceland Cemetery near 36th and Maine.
The 30th anniversary of Madden's death was Tuesday, January 11 of this year. Read more from Rodney Hart with The Quincy Herald-Whig by clicking here.
Prewitt told KHQA that about a year ago he decided that this little boy and fellow classmate would not be forgotten again, so in January he and a group of Washington School alumni held a memorial service at Alan's grave where they lit a candle hat burned all night. He makes sure that every holiday he has appropriate decorations for the season.
Prewitt also tells us that he goes to the grave every two weeks to trim around the marker and make sure it is presentable and very clearly seen from Maine St. He and a group of people even began cleaning up debris at the gravesite after recent storms.
"Today would have been Alans 36th birthday and I asked the community via Facebook to bring a flower or stuffed animal out to his grave in his memory," he said. "At 4:30 there were quite a few who made it out there. I made it my duty to make sure this little boy is never forgotten and although [it was] such a tragedy, if it were not for his death, the improvements in the way DCFS handles abuse calls may have never came."
Click here to read an anonymous poem in honor of Alan Madden we found online.
Do you have memories of Alan Madden? Do you remember the events as they unfolded in 1981? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page here.
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