This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Redden, Mitchell, Hill, Stone, Harmon Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/5YB.2ACE/2865 Message Board Post: Funeral serices for Jimmie C. Redden were held Sunday afternoon in the Baptist Church in Cheyenne with Rev. Jimmie Wilkerson delivering the funeral sermon. The church auditorium and basement were crowded and many people remained outside. The entire fron of the audtorum was banked with floral offerings from friends of the deceased and the family. The Masonic Lodge of Cheyenne had charge of final rites at the Cheyenne Cemetery, Cheyenne, Roger Mills County, Oklahoma. James C. Redden waas born September 22, 1885, on a south Missouri farm near Willow Spring, and passed from life at the home of his son, C.H. Redden in Cheyenne July 21, 1955. At the age of fourteen years Jimmie Redden came to old Day County with his parents, William C. and Annie B. Redden. His father filed on a claim near Packsaddle bridge. Here he grew to manhood. He was married to Maye Hill, who survives him, in 1910. To this union four sons were born. They are Clarence and Joe of Cheyenne, James K. of Billings, Montana, and Gene R. of Pryor, Oklahomqa. Seven grandsons, five granddaughters, and one great granddaughter also survive him. Other survivors include a sister, Mrs. Pearl Mitchell , Pampa, Texas, and a number of nieces and nephews. Two sisters, Jo Stone and Edda Harmon and his two brothers, Ray and Bert, preceded him in death. Mr. Redden was a 32nd degree Mason and a Shriner. Jimmie Redden was a pioneer of Roger Mills County. Despite the hardships that accompany pioneering, he pushed forward, taking advantage of every opportunity to become one of the influential citizens of western Oklahoma. In 1922 Jimmie Redden was elected county commissioner from the Third District of Roger Mills County, which office he held until 1930. During this time the county enjoyed one of its greatest eras of progress in road building. The Packsaddle bridge across the South Canadian River on the north boundary of Roger Mills County is an outstanding monument to his far-sighted thinking in road construction. Mr. Redden also served thew county as a member of the Excise Board and as undersheriff. As a private citizen Mr. Redden was an outstanding farmer in the Durham community and later operated a gin there. Later he moved to Cheyenne where he went into the grocery and locker business. About eight years ago he developed a serious heart ailment which compelled him to lead a quiet life. Jimmie Redden was endowed with a strong will and he had faith in himself and his fellowmen which were strong contributing factors that spurred him on to great accomplishments. He was capable of frienship there was nothing that he would not do for a friend. He was a man of strong convictions. He would take a stand and fight for that which he thought was right. He was one who would make sacrifice for the betterment of any member of his family no matter how remote the kindship. As evidence of this fact, his wife, their children, grandchildren and great grandchild were present at the funeral services, along with representatives of each of the families of his brothers and sisters, coming from great distance to pay their last respects to who has meant so much to the Redden families. The growth and development of Roger Mills County has been made possible through the efforts of such men as Jimmie Redden, a man who dared to undertake tasks that less courageous so would have said, "It can't be done." Truly one of Roger Mills County's great citizens has passed. Cheyenne Star, Cheyenne, Ok