Stan Madson was born in 1936 and grew up in a modest Los Angeles neighborhood. He became interested in mechanical design and eventually graduated with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Science/Engineering at UCLA. He first worked at Hughes Aircraft, then Northrup where he met his wife, Fran Arata in 1963. After a one-year sabbatical which included traveling with Fran in Europe, they returned to Los Angeles in 1966 where Stan found an engineering job with Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica. It was there that he befriended a co-worker, Phil Thompson. During that time, the two, along with Dan Morris, became dissatisfied with their careers, decided to follow a soul-level calling that led to them opening The Bodhi Tree Bookstore in 1970. Stan and Fran currently live in Los Angeles.