Of all the many couples in the county who were mentioned as a great story for the February Sweethearts edition, Frank and Gayle Madsen came up most frequently.  The Enterprise reached out to the people who know them best—their family—for the story of their love.  It turns out that in this case there are two separate stories, presented here for your consideration!

The story of how they met and their early dating was recounted slightly differently by the couple. 

Frank’s version:

“The first time I remember seeing Donna Gayle was at Scott Service a long time ago. I was sitting in the back of the store with my dad. I am guessing I was only about 10 or 11 years old. As I was sitting in the back with my dad and a few of the other farmers from around the valley in walks this little red-headed girl to buy some penny candy from the candy cabinet, I remember Khalil waiting on her. I did not know it at the time, but I guess I was staring at this cute little redhead. After she left the store, man, did I get a lot of crap from those farmers for staring. You probably won't believe this, but I had a strong feeling that someday I would marry her. That is a pretty strong feeling for someone my age. Did I share this with anyone else? Nope, I kept the feeling to myself.

After a while, I forgot about this encounter until I got into high school. Then one day, I saw Gayle walking back from the Seminary building, and I think I blushed a little bit, but again I did not let anyone know.

One evening my friend Terrell called and asked if I would give him a ride out to Warren Edwards' so he could see Carol Anna, Gayle's older sister. He had just wrecked his car and had no wheels to get around, and of course, I said sure. Terrell went in, and I stayed out in the car; oh Lord, was it ever fancy, an old 1948 Chevy fleet line. Well, while Terrell was in the house, he had to blab to a couple of girls that were in the house, Donna Gayle and Linda, about how down and out I was because I had no girlfriend. Well, the next thing I know, these two girls came running out of the house and almost tore the screen door off. Well, Gayle beat Linda to the car and got in the front seat and snuggled right up to me, and made Linda sit in the back seat. Well, the rest is history; we dated for three or four years. I graduated from high school in 1963, and in May of 1965, we got married. Oh my goodness, where did that 57 years go. We still love each other as much now as we did when we first started dating.”

Gayle’s version: 

“I met Frank through Terrell Jones. My sister Carol had a date with Terrell, and when he came to pick her up, I had a friend Linda Nielsen visiting, and when Terrell told us that Frank Madsen was sitting out in his car, we almost tore the door off the hinges and ran to the car. I beat Linda and got in and sat by Frank, and that's how it all got started. I never dated anyone else. One day at school, a good friend was talking to me, and when Frank found out, he stuck his head in a snowdrift, and every time we have a class reunion, Khalil reminds Frank of this. 

Terrell and Frank came to pick Carol and me up for a date one night, and Stan, my oldest brother, was home on leave, and they didn't come to the door but honked the horn. Stan stepped out on the front porch and said, my dog is not home; needless to say, we stayed home, and they always came to the door after that.” 

Afterwards to Present

Frank and Gayle have lived all of their married lives in Malad, where they have worked and raised their family. Gayle has worked various jobs, but her most important job was always raising her five girls and supporting their many activities. Her home has always been immaculately kept, and she taught all her children to clean and take care of their own homes. Frank worked for Scott’s Service until 1972 when Malad High School hired him to teach the Auto Mechanics program, which he did for 33 years. During his teaching career, he was also the MHS Wrestling coach for 15 years, the bus supervisor for 27 years, and operated his own mechanic business.

Both are active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have served in many positions and organizations, including Bishop, High Council, High Priests, Sunday School, Primary, Young Women’s and Relief Society. They served an 18-month service mission to Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri, from March 2009-September 2010. For many years, they were the camp managers of the Camp Ho-Nok Campground located in Soda Springs, Idaho.

They have five daughters: Debbie and Curt Hill (Grace, Idaho), Paula and Ray Davis (Malad), Kathy and Paul Hubbard (Malad), Tricia and Jesse Allen (Lehi, Utah) and Shenell and Bo Clark (Malad). They have 15 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren that they love very much.

Frank and Gayle love to spend time with their family. They both love to camp and hike, with many fond memories of taking their five girls to Redfish Lake, Idaho. They taught their girls to enjoy the outdoors with many trips to the Samaria mountains and North Canyon to hike and shoot guns. Gayle loves to crochet, read and garden. Frank continues to be busy with his own mechanic business, but when not working, he has restored three classics--a 1950 Chevrolet pickup, a 1961 Chevrolet Panel truck, and a 1945 McCormick-Deering Model A tractor.

For anyone that knows Frank and Gayle, you know they still enjoy sitting by one another when going for a drive. Frank and Gayle have not had a lot of time to travel but have enjoyed trips to Redfish Lake, Hawaii, a cruise to Alaska, and trips to Arizona. 

Frank and Gayle’s children and grandchildren are very thankful for the many lessons on how to work hard and enjoy the great outdoors. Frank and Gayle have been the perfect examples of loving one another unconditionally.