Obituaries Australia

Ralph Richardson Madsen

Supplied by Roger Madsen

Ralph Richardson Madsen was born on the 18th May, 1951. He was the third child and second son for Len and Effie Madsen who, at that time, lived on a 17 acre block 3.5 kms from Maroochydore. Coralie and Philip were his older sister and brother and Roger and Natalie came along later. 

Ralph was a gentle, generous person by nature but life was a hard slog and at many times a struggle for Ralph. He endured quite a hard life. Ralph was a happy child who enjoyed playing in the bush with his brothers and sisters. However, he was quite young when he began having regular asthma attacks. As there was no Ventolin or other preventatives then, his mother would sit up night after night rubbing his back to help him breathe. When he began school, he had to walk with the others for over 3 kms. Because he was so constantly unwell, he missed a lot of school. However, he only ever had to repeat his (Year 10) Junior year so he must have kept up with the rest of his class. Ralph attended Maroochydore Primary School and was actually one of the foundation students of Maroochydore High School.

Ralph was 13 when he had his first major epileptic seizure. This was another setback. He was already a skinny kid with a concave chest but now he was also having seizures. He was constantly bullied at school and called a weakling. He was around 16 when he was able to spend some time in the then Chermside Chest Hospital and receive some of the newer treatment that had become available for the treatment of asthma. Ralph secured several employment opportunities over the years, in Queensland Rail, and Australia Post but couldn’t conceal the fact that he was having seizures which usually meant he would lose his job. He worked for maybe five years at Woodlands at Geebung before they relocated their operations to Gympie. He joined the Army Reserve but again was only for a short time. 

Ralph met Sharon Woodgate around 1980. She had a 5 year old daughter, Naomi whom Ralph took an immediate shine to. He loved children and wanted some of his own. Ralph and Sharon became engaged and Jonathon and Dominic were born a few years later. However, Sharon found it difficult coping with Ralph’s seizures and eventually Ralph moved to Bribie Island to live with his mother. For a time, Ralph only had limited access to the children but he would visit whenever he was able. Ralph spent many years unemployed and his Epilepsy was always an issue.

Ralph enjoyed music and sang Bass first with the Maroochydore Methodist church choir and later the Bribie Island Uniting church. While living on Bribie with his Mum, Ralph was involved with the Bribie Island Uniting Church and always helped out there when he could.

In early 1999, Ralph secured a Dept of Housing unit in Edward Street, Caboolture. This was to be his home for the next almost 25 years. For a time, he was able to continue going to church at Bribie as he had someone who gave him a lift there. After that ended, Ralph was introduced to the Caboolture congregation and had been happily involved there until his passing. One of Ralph’s interests was cricket and he looked forward to the summer months when he could watch it on TV. He had his Don Bradman memento on his wall which he treasured.

Around 2014, Ralph was diagnosed with Prostate cancer and treated. He was continually monitored but it wasn’t long before this had metastasized in his bones. His health gradually deteriorated over the years since and still whilst he was dealing with seizures.

Ralph finally passed away on Sunday morning, August 4 2024. He will be greatly missed by his siblings Coralie, Philip, Roger and Natalie. Special thanks must go to Natalie, who made the effort to visit Ralph every Wednesday for the last 6 – 8 months of his life.