The Greatest Story of All Time
You may have noticed the new flag flying out front of high school, courtesy of Mrs. Angela Odell, in memory of her husband, David “Digger” Odell. The Odells have been residents of Madison for over 44 years and when Mrs. Odell saw the poor condition of our old flag, she knew exactly what Digger would have wanted her do.
Digger met Angela Maria DiCarlo at an Exxon party in 1968. Once they started dancing they didn’t stop for the next 3 hours. The two were married in 1970. Together, they raised their son Timothy in Madison for the next 43 years. Digger had a great love for Madison. You could find him and his wife attending varsity football games, both home and away.
By all means Digger was a man of a god and a true patriot. Mrs. Odell recounted that they would be driving on Route 10, certainly not a picturesque site, but as they would pass the rows of flags outside the occasional car dealership Digger would take note immediately and say, “Look at that flag. Did you ever see a more beautiful flag?” He loved the meaning of our stripes and stars and was sure that we have the most beautiful flag on the planet. If he saw a flag that wasn’t in good condition, he took it upon himself to write a letter to the establishment suggesting they replace the flag.
Digger knew everybody. “You would have thought he was a politician running for reelection,” Mrs. Odell explained. An active member of both St. Vincent’s parish in Madison and Liquid Church in Morristown, Digger’s faith love of God inspired all those he surrounded himself with. He wasn’t shy about his religion and his “I love Jesus” hat became his trademark. He was a lover of sports and never one to sit idle, and he ran the New York City Marathon on four occasions. His favorite pastime was to be down at Plaza Lanes, where he served as a junior bowling league coach for 40 years.
Three days before Easter Sunday, Digger began a 36-day struggle after complications from a gall bladder surgery. There were more than 100 people on an email list receiving updates on how Digger was doing. On May 20th, 2014 he passed away.
After seeing our school’s flag looking a bit tattered, Mrs. Odell came to our school to speak with Mr. Robertson about donating a new flag. She contacted the US flag company who advised her that a 6’ x 10’ Nylon flag would fly best on our 47 foot flag pole. Mrs. Odell was invited by Mr. Robertson to watch as they hung the flag for the first time. After the brief ceremony Mr. Robertson offered her a hand shake to which she replied, “Oh no Mr. Robertson. I think I need a hug.”