Yvonne May “Chris” Madsen was born in New Ulm, Minnesota May 22, 1932. She was the eldest of three children born to Florence (Warnke) and Edward Christensen. Yvonne graduated from New Ulm High School. After graduating from St. Cloud Teachers Collage in 1952, Miss Christensen began her career in Lake Crystal. Her favorite position was teaching 2nd grade. She married Lyle “Mike” Madsen in New Ulm in 1954. Bucking traditional norms and policies regarding marriage, pregnancy, and same district employment, she taught for 12 years.