Marlys J. Madsen

Marlys Joanne (LaValley) Madsen died Sunday, August 17, at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Fergus Falls.

Born in 1938 to Perley and Lilac LaValley, she grew up in Clitherall, and rural Battle Lake, Minnesota. She had a lifelong love for horses including Tony, Pepper, Abraham and Char. She graduated from Battle Lake High School in 1956, where she played a jazzy saxophone, was a cheerleader, and knew how to twirl a mean baton.

As a teen she worked at Sand Bay Resort in Battle Lake. She later moved to Rochester to work for Dayton’s department store and was a runner-up in the Miss Rochester Pageant. Shortly thereafter she met and married Emil “Manny” Madsen in Battle Lake in 1957, moving to Kansas City where he was attending school. There she worked at Hallmark Co.

Marlys and Manny had two children, Marci (Terry) Fuller in 1958, and Mitchell (Eileen) Madsen in 1960. The family lived in California—where she was president of the PTA, and Washington state before returning to Battle Lake in 1970.

She worked for Dr. Michael Barnes at the Battle Lake Clinic and was instrumental in organizing the successful Chief Wenonga Days parade in Battle Lake for many years. She also wrote the popular cooking column in the Battle Lake Review “Mrs. McIntosh” in the late 1980s.

Although Marlys was nicknamed “Mouse” by her brother Verdell, due to her petite size, she was big on hospitality, welcoming guests at all times of the day, and making ordinary events special. Her Sunday dinners were legend, with table settings that rivaled a page out of House Beautiful. And you never knew when a spontaneous picnic would break out, especially during the many fishing adventures on area lakes, if you were lucky enough to get in on them with her. However, you were not so lucky should she challenge you to a game of Scrabble where she’d beat all opponents by triple digits.

Her adventurous spirit took her on many travel destinations with family and friends to a variety of states and countries. When not on the road or in the air, she enjoyed life on “The Farm” in rural Battle Lake where she was an avid bird and nature lover. She was also seldom seen without a book in her hand.

Marlys was preceded in death by brothers Allan LaValley and Verdell LaValley, and sisters Janice Ramsay and Noreen (Rene) Carr. She is survived by her husband Manny, children Marci and Mitch, grandson Nicholas Fuller, and sister Dottie (Orin) Schueler, as well as many nieces and nephews.

She will be interred at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Clitherall. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.