Harold Peter Madsen

Hal (Harold) P. Madsen, 82, loving Husband and Father passed away surrounded by his family the evening of Friday, March 31, 2017 at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Beverly Hills, CA. He fought a great battle to the very end. His love for life, his family and friends is unsurpassed.

He leaves his wife of 55 years, Karean (Becker) Madsen; his four daughters Anne Surnbrock, Laura Madsen, Julia Madsen, Kara Phillips; son-in-law’s Tom Surnbrock and Matthew Phillips; six grandchildren, Tyler Surnbrock, Haley Surnbrock, Katrina Phillips, Calvin Trudeau, Kasden Phillips and Chance Trudeau; and many close friends.

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Harold and Jeanette Madsen, Hal grew up in the suburbs of Park ridge, Illinois where he attended Main-Township High School. Hal went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 1957. He often joked he selected his degree because it was the shortest line at registration. After completing an ROTC program while at Purdue, Hal entered the United States Air Force. He was last stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado where he obtained the rank of Captain. After leaving the Air Force, Hal started his career in sales first working for Dow Chemical in Michigan followed by a short time at an Aerospace Company in Los Angeles. Wanting to move back to Colorado for his love of the mountains and fishing, he found a job in Denver with Vinson Associates (Aerospace).

While living in Colorado he met a beautiful blonde United Airlines flight attendant on a blind date, Karean Alice Becker. They were united in marriage in 1961 at the Methodist Church in Shelby, Iowa. Hal and Karean began their life together in Broomfield Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains, where they spent weekends skiing, fishing and introducing their daughters to the wilderness. Hal was recruited in 1963 by Beckman Instruments. During the next 15 years Beckman moved him from Colorado to Washington, back to Colorado and finally to California where he spent the balance of his career. His daughters Anne and Laura were born in Colorado, Julia in Washington and Kara in California.

In California Hal continued his education completing several marketing courses at Stanford University and Syracuse University while working at Beckman. After working for Beckman for 15 years, Hal changed careers and went to work for Rainbird Irrigation. From Rainbird he moved on to Hydrel Lighting in the Sylmar Valley in Los Angeles. He spent over 20 years with Hydrel and retired as the Vice President of Marketing in 2001.

Hal had a great love of the outdoors and spending time with his family - in particular his grandchildren. He was an avid fisherman, golfer and traveler. Hal was a quick wit with a great sense of humor. He loved holidays and surprising people with silly costumes he would labor over to make each celebration memorable. A Christian dedicated to his faith, he loved god he was an active member of Trinity United Presbyterian Church, where he had become a Steven’s Minister.

His Visitation Service is Tuesday, April 18th from 4:00 – 8:00 pm at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana and the Funeral service is Wednesday, April 19th at 11:00 am with a reception to follow. Flowers are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Trinity United Presbyterian Church, in Memory of Hal Madsen (Mail to Address: 12922 Prospect Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92705). These funds will be dedicated to their “Two Steps Forward” Community Outreach Program.