Alfred Madsen

Alfred Karl Madsen, 91, passed away peacefully at his home on August 3rd. He was surrounded by his family, loving caregiver and friends, and upheld in the prayers of many. A Funeral Service will be held at First United Methodist Church, Cleburne, on Monday, August 8 at 10:00 a.m. The Madsen family will receive friends at Rosser Funeral Home, Cleburne, on Sunday, August 7, 2-4:00 p.m.

Karl’s wife, Grace Lucille Teague Madsen of Giddings, preceded him in death after 52 years of marriage in 1998. They are survived by their children, Kerry Alfred Madsen of Graham, Randall Aabye Madsen and wife Lori Boggs Madsen of Fort Mill, SC, and Karrla Grace Madsen Whitworth of Cleburne. Karl and Grace have six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Karl was born in Chicago on September 27, 1924, the only child of Alma Frizzell Madsen of Chalk Mountain, and Alfred Aabye Madsen of Eijby, Denmark. The family settled in Cleburne during Karl’s early childhood, and founded Madsen Chair Company on Wilhite Street in 1927.

During World War II, Karl served in the United States Navy, an Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class, 1943-46. Stationed most of that time at the U. S. Naval Air Base, San Diego, he met there another Texan, Grace Lucille Teague. In his own description, she was “a brunette angel with hazel eyes and a perfect smile.” This angel was a ‘flat-top’ driver, delivering materials all over the base, a job with lots of ‘exposure.’ Karl was wowed by the looks of the young woman. She, not so much. She thought the Army Private sitting next to him—a hometown visitor—was a little cuter. But when everyone stood up, the Private was too short, and Karl was just right. So, when the date was arranged for a Big Band evening, Karl and Grace began to dance their way into destiny. They married in Cleburne, June 1, 1946, 25 days after returning to civilian life.

Having grown up in the family business, Karl resumed the work he had begun as a teenager at Madsen Chair Company. But in 1958, Karl and Grace bravely together started another furniture enterprise in Cleburne, Style-Rite Manufacturing, Inc. In 1976, Grace left manufacturing behind, and entered into partnership in The Corner Shop, a retail and specialty gift and home fashions boutique, which she divested shortly before her death in 1998. Karl continued with Style-Rite until retiring and closing the business in 2008.

Also together, Karl and Grace served their Church and community, and sought to build their family on faith, hope and love. And as with other family-makers, they found that whenever there was a shortage of one thing, there was enough of something else. And with grit and determination, and by an instinct to never give up, Karl and Grace endured. The family they made has endured. After all, faith, hope and love—these three—endure. And so, the drama/comedy/love story of Karl and Grace is now complete. Here’s the best part, that because of what God has done for them in Jesus Christ, their lives are not ended. Indeed, their lives are un-ended! Big Daddy, dance with your angel again!