Pastor Larry Lee Madsen, age 68, of Sioux City died unexpectedly Saturday, November 12, 2011. Visitation will be Friday, November 18, from 5:00-8:00 p.m., with the family present between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. and a prayer service at 7:00 at Church at the Gate, 305 South Derby Lane in North Sioux City, SD. Funeral services will be held at the church Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 10:30 a.m. with Pastor Charles Bauman and Larry’s son David Madsen officiating. A graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday at the Ingaman Cemetery near Moorhead, IA. Waterbury Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences for the family may be made at www.waterburyfuneralserviceinc.com
Larry was born November 16, 1942 in Onawa, IA, the son of Theodore and Irene (Ravnsborg) Madsen. He graduated from LeMars Community High School in 1961. Larry accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior shortly after graduating. He was united in marriage with Joyce Norton on November 16, 1963 in Elk Point, SD. Larry established, owned, and operated Madsen Insurance Agency for twenty-two years, during which time he served as Area Coordinator of Northwest Iowa for the Gideons International Bible distributors, served as Sunday school teacher, church deacon, youth director, drama coordinator, Sunday school superintendent, Royal Ranger boys leader, camp counselor, and bus driver for area churches, and led a nursing home ministry for Countryside Nursing Home. Larry also founded Faith Christian Bible College, a correspondence Bible school. After feeling called into full-time ministry, he became a licensed minister with the both the Assemblies of God and the American Baptists and served as both senior pastor and interim pastor at various local churches. Larry also established and hosted a radio program, Today with Jesus, an English-language broadcast heard in the Middle East. Larry received his B.A. from Empire Bible College and held an honorary doctorate from World Christian Ministries. Larry also played church-league softball and coached little-league baseball. Larry loved spending time with his grandchildren and especially enjoyed taking them to the park to play.

Pastor Larry was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by his family. Survivors include his wife of forty-eight years, Joyce; his daughter Lori (Dendy) and her husband Matthew of Sioux City, IA; his son David and his wife Melissa of Lynchburg, VA; and his daughter Joylene (Urban) and her husband Brett of Sioux City, IA. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Hannah, Alexis, Miriam, Bethany, Ethan, Alyssa, and Briana. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Bernard E. Madsen; and his nephew, Russell