On May 31, 2017, Madeleine Dugue Gomez MD, FAPA, passed away peacefully at the age of 84, in her beloved home surrounded by her family.

Born March 21, 1933, in Cap Haitien, Haiti, Mady was the eldest of three daughters born to a father of French descent, a prominent lawyer in Haiti who focused on civil rights and poverty, and a mother of Danish and Italian descent, a school teacher who spoke five languages.

When she was twelve years old Mady immigrated to the Dominican Republic to escape political upheaval in Haiti. She attended the Colegio Santo Domingo for High School. She received her medical degree at the University of Santo Domingo in 1957. Later she completed her psychiatric residency training at the University of Syracuse in New York, with further training at the Family Institute of Chicago.

While in medical school she met her husband of 61 years, Evaristo Gomez MD. After marrying, they left the Dominican Republic, immigrating to the U.S. and to Montreal, Canada. Together they raised three children, Madeleine, Bruce, and Colette. Madeleine miscarried two sons at six and seven months that helped to form the resilience she would later carry with her through her life.

Madeleine spent the bulk of her family years in Evanston, Illinois. For 21 years she served as the Medical Director of Chicago's Ravenswood Hospital Community Mental Health Center, where she led with passion, grace and a commitment to bettering the mental health of the surrounding community. She was Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Illinois, while also pursuing a busy private practice specializing in couples, sex therapy, and eating disorders.

In 1971, she and Evaristo were named "Outstanding New Citizens of the Year," by the Chicago City Council, for their contributions to mental health. In 1984 she was awarded the Nancy Roeske Award, the American Psychiatric Association's National Award for Excellence in Medical Student Education. Over the years, Mady received many other professional awards and recognition. She authored and co-authored numerous publications and delivered countless lectures in her field.

In 1994, she and Evaristo retired to Coral Springs Florida. During the last 21 years, the couple also spent several months each year living with their youngest daughter, Colette, and her family, in Bozeman Montana.

Mady's rich life as a retiree was spent visiting grandchildren, being sure to witness all their important events. She also traveled to Europe, Saint Lucia, and Prague with family. Mady and Evaristo's 50th wedding anniversary bash was held with family in Honolulu, Hawaii. At home in Florida, Mady nurtured many close friendships, spent time with her plants, orchids, and harvested fruit from her prolific avocado tree.

Madeleine will be remembered for her deliberate style of eating, in which she combined small amounts of everything on her plate in each bite. She was often seen eating a breakfast of sardines, cottage cheese, and left over rice and beans. Boy, could she eatand eat! and eat, and never seemed to gain an ounce of weight! She loved coffee, travel, dancing, shopping, babies, and her family-- especially the grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her house in Evanston was almost entirely pink, and she was one of the few in Chicago, that drove an Avanti. The walls of her art deco home in Florida were laden with photos and decorations, and the niches of her built-in shelves there were loaded with colored glass that she tirelessly collected. She loved to read, talk about profound topics, and she hated exercise and the sun. When needed, she dropped everything to help; her counseling and expertise were indispensible in helping both family and friends. She was equal parts intelligence and compassion.

Her love of hats was legendary, as was her large toothy smile and eyes so black you could not see her pupils. She spoke four languages fluently. She possessed worldly wisdom, which she packaged in clever sayings that she would state at just the right moment. She was sexy, loved her clothes and her lipstick. She was the rock of stability for her husband and family and a source of love and support for a sizable number of people, many of whom took up temporary residence in Mady and Evaristo's large home in Evanston until they were back on their feet again.

One can hardly remember Mady being angry until she was afflicted with dementia in the last years of her life. She was an extremely forgiving person and found good qualities in everybody. She epitomized the woman of strength, intelligence, beauty, and kindness and was a role model for all of us.

Madeleine is survived by her husband Evaristo Gomez MD, daughter Madeleine and son-in-law Javier Sanchez (of Coral Springs), son Bruce and daughter-in-law Stephanie Jones (of Evanston, Illinois), and daughter Colette and son-in-law Steven Kirchhoff (of Bozeman, Montana), 9 grandchildren, Michelle (and Jefe Contreras of Eugene, Oregon) Bianca O'Callaghan, Eric Sanchez, Marcos Sanchez (of Coral Springs), Gabriela, Roman Gomez (of Evanston, Il), Ashley Kirchhoff (of Missoula Montana), Julia Kirchhoff (of Brooklyn NY), and Maxwell Kirchhoff (of Bozeman MT.) ,4 great grandchildren, Celia, Satya, Gael and Jason, sister Genevieve Schwartz of Chula Vista, sister and brother-in-laws Rina and Steve French (of Houston). Nephews Steven French, Jonathan French and Larry Jude Schwartz.

The family would like to thank Mady's supportive and loving extended family and friends, the caretakers who were at her bedside these last four months, and Vitas Hospice.

A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Malachy Church in Margate, Florida July 29th at 11 am, followed by a luncheon. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the American Heart Association, the American Stroke Association or the Scleroderma Foundation.

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