Raymond Willard Maden
April 10, 1931 ~ January 31, 2016 (age 84) 84 Years OldShare using:
Raymond Willard Maden left this life for heaven on January 31, 2016 after complications from a stroke. He was born on April 10, 1931 in Lancing, Tennessee to Willard and Julia Maden. At the early age of sixteen, Raymond had logging in his blood.
He told stories of using a crosscut saw to cut logs for paper, loading it on a sled, and pulling it with a mule team. Raymond heard of great logging opportunities in a bustling little town called Prineville, Oregon. There were seven lumber mills at the time in production. He decided to leave the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to avoid working in the coal mines. He hitched a ride with his aunt and uncle, Maude and Albert, with Cousin Kenneth Young, in the back of a brand new 1950 Chevy pickup truck. It was quite an adventure for a nineteen year old boy.
Upon arriving in Prineville, he was told to go to the corner of Bank Drug with his lunch box and to be ready to work. This started a long career in the timber industry with a series of jobs that included setting chokers, timber falling, and cat skinner. Raymond enjoyed working in the woods, and in his spare time loved to hunt, fish, garage sale, and make things work again.
However, the greatest love of his life was a girl from Oklahoma named Geraldine Jacobs. They would have been married sixty years in September, and shared the joy of having two children, Kathy and Kevin. He was a very devoted husband, father, and papa to his family. We want the world to know he was a great man, and we are so proud to be his family.
Raymond is survived by his wife Jerrie, daughter Kathy Togstad, son-in-law Jim, son Kevin Maden, daughter-in-law Ponda, grandchildren: Melissa, Mike, Joshua, Jaime, Jeremy, Rachel, Shelby, and Tanner, great grandchildren: Brennan, Ava, and Cameron, brothers: Richard and RB, and sister-in-law Mary.
The family welcomes you to any of the following services: A viewing held at Prineville Funeral Home on Friday, February 5th, from 9am – 1pm. He will be laid to rest at Juniper Haven Cemetery on Friday, February 5th at 2:00pm. A Celebration of Life Service will be held February 6th, at 1:00 p.m. at the First Assembly of God Church in Prineville with Raymond's favorite apple pie and coffee immediately after the service.
