Obituary for Jesse “Jim” Hadden

Jesse “Jim” Hadden , long time Osage County rancher passed away peacefully Saturday, November 8, 2014, at home surrounded by his wife and children. He was 90.

A small graveside service will be held at 1:00 pm, Thursday, November 13, 2014 at the Odd Fellows Cemetery, Ponca City, with Pastor Dennis Clark officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Trout Funeral Home & Crematory.

Jim was born into a ranching family on November 25, 1923 to Jesse James Hadden Sr, and Mary Agnes (Rogers) Hadden in Osage County, Ok. He was born at the tail end of an era when Osage County was alive with Texas cowboys, railcars full of Texas steers coming to summer pasture, wildcatting oilmen, and wealthy Osage Indians, and he loved every minute of it. He attended Braden School, riding his favorite horse “Whitey” there in good weather, and when his parents took him it was not unusual for him to beat them back home. Jim spent most of his youth working on his father’s and Uncle Oscar’s nearby ranch.

When World War II came, Jim volunteered into the Marines and spent his service time in the South Pacific. He was injured in a shell attack during the invasion of Peleliu, for which he received the Purple Heart. He carried shrapnel from this injury with him for the rest of his life.

After the War, Jim returned to work on the Hadden Ranches and spent some time on a ranch in south western New Mexico. In 1951 Jim married Vera Webb of Orlando, Ok. They continued ranching, raising good Hereford cattle and four children along the way. They had been married for 46 years when Vera passed away from illness. Jim remained on the ranch, but this was a hard time for him. That all changed when he met and married Francis Duehning –Ware of Guthrie, Ok. They married on August 20, 1998 in Santa Fe, NM. Afterwards, they moved into Ponca City where Jim eventually retired, turning over the ranching operation to his youngest son, Jess.

Jim and Frances enjoyed traveling and spending time with their children and old friends. They moved to Guthrie in 2012, as Jim put it “so Frances could be near her kids”. He knew his time was near, and he wanted to make sure Frances would be okay after he was gone.

Jim is preceded in death by his parents, wife Vera, sister Nila Braden, and son in law, Larry Keirn.

He is survived by wife Frances, of the home, children Cindy Keirn and family, Overland Park, KS; Bruce Hadden, Oklahoma City; Brenda Hadden and family, Albuquerque, NM; Jess Hadden and family, Ponca City; stepsons Mike Duehning and family, Kingston, OK ; Larry Duehning and family, Edmond, OK; and Matt Duehning and family, Guthrie, OK. Also surviving are sisters Juanita Milenski, Mesa, AZ; and Marilyn Keltner, Ponca City, OK; along with numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren, and Jim’s little Charolais, Chuckie ( a small white Westie).

Casket bearers will be Jess Hadden, Bruce Hadden, Joe Keirn, Mike Duehning, Larry Duehning, and Matt Duehning. Honorary casket bearers will be grandsons Hunter Hadden and Mark Westlake.

Source: Trout Funeral Home