Mike Madden

Richard Michael Madden passed away peacefully at home on March 1, 2015 after a two-year battle with cancer. “Mike” – “Gramps” to his 15 grandchildren – was a forthright man of simple pleasures, and family was always foremost in his mind. A loving patriarch and loyal friend, he’ll long be remembered for his boisterous laugh, strong work ethic, and steadfast courage.

Born on June 7, 1942 in Santa Monica, California to Richard Louis Madden and Virginia O'Sullivan Madden, Mike grew up crewing for his father on their pleasure boat, the Virginia M., and passed to his family a love of the ocean and islands, particularly Catalina and Anacapa. From daredevil ski jumps and epic backpacking trips, to camping at Zaca Lake and traveling the world with his wife, Janet King Madden, Mike loved adventure. Just a few weeks prior to his passing, he and Janet were surrounded by friends and family, celebrating the adventure of their 50-year marriage.

Mike attended Santa Clara University and graduated from UCLA with a BS in physics in 1964. In 1975, he received his PhD from USC with his dissertation on Phase Coherent Photoconductivity Associated with Semiconductor Traps. His research brought the fundamental semiconductor discoveries of the 1940s through 1960s into everyday life by making new devices much simpler and easier to manufacture.

He was brilliant – but never bragged about himself. He founded Silicon Detector Corporation in Newbury Park in 1976. Each of his four kids worked there from a young age, and if they needed to, they could find him anywhere in the building by listening for their dad’s ubiquitous whistle.

Besides being where his kids learned their father’s work ethic, SDC supplied the first commercial optical sensors for bar code scanners, non-invasive blood glucose sensors, and the computer mouse. The photometric techniques he developed have become the standard method for billions of optical sensors used every day around the world. For example, every smartphone built today includes an ambient light sensor, which dims the display to save battery power. SDC was acquired by Advanced Photonix Inc. in 1991 and continues operations in Camarillo today.

Mike is survived by his wife, Janet, and their four children and 15 grandkids: Madden (b. Nancy) Hosmann (h. Kevin; ch. Ariel, Luke, Clayton, and Zoe), Joseph Madden (w. Doris Demirjian; ch. Jessica, Thomas, Rachel, Raffi Demirjian, and Andre Demirjian), Anne-Marie Cavanah (h. Craig; ch. Audrey and William), and Michael Madden (w. Mardiss; ch. Taylor, Sean, Scott, and Aiden).

Mike was the oldest of nine children, big brother to Elizabeth LeBlanc (h. Robert), Jane Brown (h. David), Patricia Madden, the late James Madden (w. Tina), Mary Madden, Susan Adam (h. Brian), Joseph Madden (w. Sharon), and Robert Madden (w. Marcia).

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Julie Billiart Church in Newbury Park, March 7th at 11:00 a.m., with burial at sea at a future date. Flowers may be sent to St. Julie Billiart, or donations are welcome to St. Julie Helping Hands or Buena Vista Hospice. Please visit piercebrothersvalleyoaks.com for service details, directions, and to sign the guestbook.