Joe William Hadden

Joe William Hadden Joe William Hadden April 11, 1917 - February 15, 2010 SALEM - Joe passed away after a long life that began in a time of the horse and buggy and ended in a world changed dramatically by the internal combustion engine. He spent most of his working life as a heavy duty mechanic on those new horseless carriages. He was born to Harvey and Beulah Hadden as the oldest of eleven children in Cobb Town Georgia. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Louisa; son and daughter-in-law, Jim and Ellen Hadden; daughter, Joy Hadden; grandchildren, Kary and Denise Hadden, Laurie Hadden, Jamie and Robert Normandin, Kevin and Arlene Miller and Barbara Heaton Vaughn; ten great grandchildren; and one great-great granddaughter; siblings, Ruth White (Palm Coast, Fla.), Memphis and Donna Hadden (North Bend), Voneal and Emma Hadden (Coos Bay), Evon and John Hickman (North Bend) and Wally and Mary Hadden (Portland). Joe began working full time as a ten year old boy sharecropping with his father. During the Great Depression he joined the Civil Conservation Corp to help support his younger siblings. He was shipped to a camp in Veneta, Oregon from Georgia where he helped build trails around Silver Creek Falls and fought fires in the summer. He met Louisa Kight, whose family was homesteading near the road between his camp and the town of Veneta. After marrying the sixteen year old Louisa he returned to Georgia. He joined the army just ahead of the draft for WW II. It was in the army that he got his basic training as a mechanic. Following his time in the army he finished his mechanic training in Georgia. In 1948 he, his wife and two children with brother Memphis, packed their belongings in a 1940 Ford pickup, driving night and day returned to the land of "poor man's air conditioning." He settled his family in Florence working in the woods for $.50 an hour instead of $.50 a day in Georgia. In 1953 he and his family moved to Salem to work as a heavy duty mechanic at Willamette Plywood Corporation. Following the closing of the mill, he worked at the Oregon State School for the Deaf as a custodian, retiring in 1979. He enjoyed camping, fishing and hunting following his retirement. But rather than hobbies, a man's work often defines who he is. Joe saw himself as a mechanic, a fixer of most anything. Because of that he chose "Salem Mechanic" as his handle for his CB radio. He often used CB lingo when talking on the telephone after he became too old to drive. Well, 10-4 Salem Mechanic we'll see you down the road on the other side, over and out. There will be a Memorial service at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 6 at Restlawn Funeral Home. The family would like to thank Gibson Creek Assisted Living and Willamette Valley Hospice for their support and care during Joe's last months.