Theodore Madsen

1933 - 2021

Theodore Madsen

March 14, 1933 - June 10, 2021

Theodore Walter Madsen, Ted (Teddy to some), played his first note at three years old. On the small stage by age six, he moved to the big times playing Carnegie Hall when he was 16. A slight deviation brings him to the Marine Corps, where he described those years as "transformational." Honorably discharged after four years of service, his discharge papers list him at 5'5" and 120 lbs. That's a stat that is hard to believe, because everyone who knew him knew how he commanded the room.

Back on track on the concert stage, Ted spent time in the Philadelphia Chamber Symphony, was concertmaster of the Jackson and Sacramento symphonies, and had myriad other positions with the elite of the elites. Grown from a prodigy to the maestro, he left the classical scene for what would turn out to be the greatest period of his life: Nashville Tennessee and the recording industry. There he made the best of his friends and he had collected many friends along the way; friends that were with him to the very end, and are still with him now. Those friends would certainly agree, Ted had a lasting and positive impact on the Nashville music scene, touching the lives of the many artists who passed through town, and even more so, the lives of the many artists who played alongside him.

Retiring from his second musical life to the town of Grand Junction, he missed the stage the minute the stage door closed behind him. He spent 21 glorious years in Grand Junction with his beautiful bride, Susie Lila Lee Madsen (White). They celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary the week before he passed.

He leaves behind many friends and family, but most of all, he leaves behind the many glorious wonderful stories of the road that I could hear forever. He was my dad, my best friend, and without a doubt, my biggest fan. Dad, I love you, I miss you, I hope you can see again.