Volume 8 , Issue 22

Obituary - Edward Theodore Hodgden, 03/13/1926 to 05/28/2006...

Services were held Friday, June 02, 2006 at 10:30 AM, Wharton Funeral Chapel, Alva, Oklahoma. Edward Hodgden, age 80, longtime resident of Alva, Oklahoma, died Sunday, May 28, Ascension Sunday. Funeral services for Mr. Hodgden were held at Wharton Funeral Chapel on Friday, June 2, at 10:30 a.m., with rites following at the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery. A vigil service was held Thursday, June 1, at 7 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Fr. Shane Tharp presiding at the services.

Edward Theodore Hodgden was born on March 13, 1926, in Enid, Oklahoma, to Theodore William (Ted) and Rose Dora (Hudnall) Hodgden. Ed's grandparents were Walter Perry and Ella (Nagle) Hodgden. Walter Perry Hodgden was twenty-one years old when he joined other Kansas men making the Run into the Cherokee Strip. Walter left his home in Ellsworth, Kansas riding his horse to Arkansas City and was ready to race into the Strip when the gun was fired, September 16, 1893. The line broke early, and though the soldiers were shouting and calling people back, they all just raced on, so the gun was fired so all could go.

Ed's grandpa, Walter Hodgden, rode that day with Billy Morton, a blacksmith from Ellsworth. Their horses "lasted too long" and when they stopped on Black Bear Creek, they found they were in Indian country. Not getting a claim they rode on into Enid and Walter took up school land southwest of Enid. Billy was to spend the rest of his life on the Hodgden ranch, dying in 1936 at 85 years.

Walter Hodgden operated land at his home in Garfield County and Walter began ranching in Woods County in 1897, starting in Section 36-Twp23-Rge13 and later acquiring Section1 and 2-Twp22-Rge13 and other acreages. This land is in the southeast corner of Woods County and on the south by the Cimarron River.

In may 1897 Walter returned to Ellsworth to marry Miss Ella Nagle, then returned to his home where they both continued to live until their deaths. That summer he harvested his first wheat crop, having been "hailed out" the three previous years. On a trip to Iowa he purchased seven Registered Hereford cows and a Registered Hereford bull. This was on of the first Registered herds in Oklahoma and surrounding states. Especially did northwest Oklahoma benefit from this improved blood and herds in Garfield and Woods Counties continue to show its influence.

Walter Perry Hodgden was born in 1872, died in 1921, but Mrs. Hodgden and her sons Theodore and Walter continued to operate the ranch. Mrs. Ella (Nagle) Hodgden died in 1960 and Theodore in 1973. Walter Perry and Ella (Nagle) Hodgden had three children: Theodore, Walter and Mary.

Ed Hodgden, son of Theodore William "Ted" and Ella (Nagle) Hodgden, was raised and educated near Drummond, Oklahoma, and at Ft. Hays, Kansas. Ed attended St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School in Enid, Oklahoma. He served in the Navy during WWII in the Philippines.

Ed married Joan Wagner in 1949 in Blairstown, New Jersey, and they were married 37 years, until her death in 1986. Their surviving children are Susan Belinda and her husband Jim Nance; Maura Bethann and her husband Larry Leslie; Melissa Joan and her husband Eric Nuttall; and Amy Melanie Hodgden. Also surviving are 7 grandchildren and 2 great-grandgirls; a sister and brother-in-law, Mary Agnes and Thomas G. Romine; one brother, Francis Hodgden, two brother-in-laws and their wifes, Lou and Kay Wagner and David and Linda Wagner and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Ed began his career in the oilfields of northwest Oklahoma as a roughneck and worked on the first oil well to be drilled in Woods County. He continued several businesses in the oil and gas industry until the age of 79. Throughout his 53-year career in the oil and gas industry he and his family served this northwest community well and he will be greatly missed.

He leaves behind his present wife, Donna. He was preceded in death by his wife Joan, his parents, and his infant daughter, Nora. Contributions may be made in Ed?s memory to the Alva Senior Citizen Center. Click here to leave your condolences at Wharton Funeral Guestbook.
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