Feb. 14, 1931 n July 24, 2008

Victor Arviel Madsen died at Regent Court in Corvallis on Thursday, July 24, from the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, having been diagnosed two years earlier. 

Victor was the first-born child of Joseph and June Madsen while they lived in Idaho Falls, Idaho. His two younger siblings were Janet and Kenneth. The family moved in 1946 to Spokane, Wash., where Victor graduated from West Valley High School, serving as student body president his senior year. His first two years of higher education were at Gonzaga University in Spokane. He then transferred to the University of Washington, Seattle, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1953 and a doctorate in physics in 1961. During his years in Seattle, he spent one summer working at China Lake Naval Base (California) and several at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico.

Victor married Ruth Harrill, whom he had met at the University of Washington, at Idaho Falls in 1955. After completing his education, he moved with her to Cleveland, where Victor was a post-graduate research associate at Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) for two years. During those summers, he worked for NASA (in Cleveland). Their two beloved children, Lisa and John, were born during these early years of their marriage. 

In 1963, Victor began his 34-year tenure in the Physics Department of Oregon State University as a researcher in theoretical nuclear physics and a dedicated teacher. Victor was elected as a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1984 and received OSU’s Milton Harris Award for outstanding achievement in basic research in 1985.

In 1985, Victor married Carolyn Wipf Shirkey in Corvallis. They had met at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and continued to enjoy this religious community throughout their marriage. Their combined families eventually all migrated back to the immediate vicinity so that in recent years, they have had the pleasure of many family gatherings in Corvallis and at the beach house that they built in 1999.

Victor consulted for many summers and while on sabbatical in 1991 at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1992. He spent eight summers at the Kernforschungsanlage Institut (national physics laboratory) in Jülich, Germany.  While at Livermore, he developed a long-time collaboration with Virginia Brown, Ph.D., which yielded much productive work and professional adventure. Victor spent his first sabbatical at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen (1969-70).

While in Denmark, Victor learned Danish so that he could communicate with some of his family’s relatives who lived in Jutland, Denmark. Connecting with these relatives and the ongoing relationship with them was one of the highlights of his life. He made a last trek to Europe in July 2007, to visit family members in Denmark.

Besides his work, other passions were classical music, languages, people, healthful living, and travel.  He spoke Spanish, German, and Danish fluently, and was studying Italian up to the time of his death. Vacations to Mexico, a favorite destination, often included a stint at a Spanish language school. He loved playing with language and words, making multi-lingual puns, silly use of words, and rewording popular songs to fit given situations. He played with a recorder group for many years, enjoying both the music and the camaraderie of the musicians.

Victor lived a well-rounded life. He kept physically active and at various times in his life participated in boxing, jogging, yoga, basketball and volleyball. Victor developed an accurate hook shot, which he frequently employed on and off the court. He enjoyed many years of contra dancing at the Benton Center. Because he wanted to eat well, Victor became an accomplished cook, making it possible for him to host many dinner parties at his home during the years while he was single. He also used his new-found skills to prepare large dinners for functions at the Unitarian Fellowship.

Victor is survived by his wife, Carolyn; daughter and son-in-law Lisa Madsen and Dan Dalthorp and their sons, Matt and Mark, of Albany; son and his partner John Madsen and Andrea Davis of Kings Valley; step-son and daughter-in-law Paul Shirkey and Dana Salisbury and their daughter, Paige, of Corvallis; step-daughter Jill Shirkey and her son, Dylan, of Corvallis; brother Kenneth Madsen of Tacoma, Wash.; brother-in-law and his wife Leon and April Bardsley of Washington, Utah; brother-in-law and his wife Calvin and Phyllis Wipf of Spearfish, S.D.; Victor’s former wife and her husband, Ruth and Kenneth Ross, of Eugene; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.  He was preceded in death by his parents and his only sister, Janet Bardsley.

A celebration of Victor’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis, 2945 N.W. Circle Blvd., in Corvallis. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Oregon State University Foundation (for the benefit of the Physics Department), the Greenbelt Land Trust, or the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis.