OBITUARY
Raymond Leroy Dudden
July 12, 1924 – June 21, 2018
Raymond Leroy Dudden, age 94, passed away on June 21, 2018 from complications of a stroke in Edinburg, TX where he has resided for the past two years. Raymond was born July 12, 1924 in Venango, Nebraska, to the late Barney and Belle Dudden. He is preceded in death by his brothers, Garrett B. Dudden and Orville J. Dudden; his sisters, Alis Bellairs and Berdena Sattler; and survived by his sister, Christine Rosenbach. Raymond is survived by most of his 15 nieces and nephews and their many children.
He is also preceded in death by his wife Patricia Hubbard Dudden (2002) and his wife Marilyn Darlington (Van Demon) Dudden (1962) and his two sons, Cary M. Dudden (1975) and Fredrick I. Dudden (2012). He is survived by his three grandchildren, Laura M. Dudden, her son Julian, of Golden, CO; Philip Dudden, his two children, Skyla and River, and wife, Casey, of Northglen, CO; and Amber Dudden and her three children; and his sons’ wives, Rosalind Farnam Dudden, Pat Allburn Dudden, and Tony Dudden Schwartz.
Raymond served in World War II, first as a Merchant Marine and then as a member of the Army of Occupation in Japan and China. He was a proud veteran and participated in American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) events.
Raymond lived in the Denver area from the 60s while farming in the summer in Nebraska and supervising harvest crews on the Great Plains. From the 1970s, he farmed in the Champion and Imperial areas of Nebraska. In 2002 he moved to Texas while still going to Nebraska to work on his nephews’ farms in the Venango area in the summer. He was valued part of a large family that keep in touch in the Venango area with family celebrations.
Memorials for Raymond will be held at 1:30 pm on April 27, 2019 at Mount Lindo and on Memorial Day, May 27, at the Venango, NE, cemetery. Contact Rosalind or Laura Dudden for more information. (roz@rozfarnam.info; lauradudden@hotmail.com)
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Legion Post #270 in Venango, NE. Send donations to Dave Deden, 29794 County Road 6, Venango, NE 69168. Checks would be made out to the American Legion Post #270.
Memories
Raymond Leroy Dudden
have a memory or condolence to add?
ADD A MEMORYRosalind Farnam
May 25, 2019
This is a picture of Raymond in a bowling shirt. Kristi said he owned a bowling alley at one time. Also he owned a vending machine company in the 70s where Fred and other cousins worked. Fred had this picture on his Facebook page along with this story:
From January 5, 2012 ·
I woke up dreaming of spam and eggs today.
My father loved spam and we ate it whenever he cooked. Fried spam and eggs; spam omelets; span gravy on toast; fried spam sandwiches; I swear he bought it by the case.
When we got our first blender in 1960, he was ecstatic and his first breakfast was making scrambled eggs by tossing into the blender whole eggs still in the shell. I still remember him trying to convince us that the crunchy, gritty bits of shell would make us healthier. But he never fixed that dish again.
He is 87 and he still works on the farm running the tractor during summers. He's in better health than I am!
Rosalind Farnam
May 7, 2019
Raymond and his immediate family were honored to have four guests at his internment on April 27 at Olinger Mount Lindo Cemetary where we laid Raymond to rest next to his second wife, Pat. Sorry this picture is out of focus. We were joined by Kristi Williams, Vel Naugle, and Jan Meyers, Raymond's nieces, and Kristi's husband, Ken. When asked, they all shared remembrances of Raymond and their interactions with him as children. It was very kind of them to come and remember Raymond. Afterwards, we adjourned to our home in Golden for refreshments. Ken and Kristi shared some movies of the Dudden family that they have been preserving.
The next memories contain four other pictures of the ceremony and place where Raymond has been laid to rest. As announced, we are also placing part of Raymond's ashes next to his first wife, Lyn, and his sons, Fred and Cary at the cemetery in Venango, Nebraska, on May 27th at 1:30 pm.
Rosalind Farnam
May 7, 2019
The internment ceremony took place in front of the open crypt which had a green curtain in front of it. During the ceremony we moved the ashes from table to the crypt behind the curtain. The cover of the crypt with his name on it is on the floor below.
Rosalind Farnam
May 7, 2019
This is the urn we prepared with part of Raymond's ashes. We attached buttons from his service uniform which we actually had until about 15 years ago. We had to toss it due to moths but kept the button and arm patch. We are using the Patch on the Urn we are burying in Venango.
Rosalind Farnam
May 7, 2019
This is a picture of Raymond's side of the crypt.
Rosalind Farnam
May 7, 2019
Finally, here is a photo of the inscription on Pat's side of the crypt so Janice, Pat's niece, and Verne, her husband can see it.
Rosalind Farnam
May 7, 2019
To continue, this is a close up of the first combine. It is a family oral history that this lady is Raymond's sister, Berdena Dudden Stattler. This might work as she would have been in her late teens in the late 30s. Neat!
Rosalind Farnam
May 7, 2019
To continue Barney's story about Raymond, here's a picture of a combine crew from the late 30s we think that Raymond's son Fred owned. Upon examination you can see that the first combine has a lady driver and is "self-propelling." Not sure that is the right word. The other combines are being pulled by tractors. They might be "real" combines as the definition of a combine is a harvester that "combines" the operations of reaping, threshing, and winnowing.
Vernon and Janice Bolz
April 26, 2019
Uncle Raymond was the kindest person we have ever known. We have lots of fond memories of him and so does our children and grandchildren.
Rosalind Farnam Dudden
April 23, 2019
From Barney Deden,
Part 2:
I ran the wheat field operation for Raymond up through the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and on through Kansas. We reached Venango about July 15th and I did not continue North from there because I was needed on our farm. I enjoyed the work but certainly did not like the absence of a shower at the end of the day. A "splash bath" from a basin of water is not very refreshing. Fred and Cary made the trip with us and stayed in the new trailer home Raymond and Pat pulled along with the crew. They spent most of their time scheduling work as we moved North. I sometimes would not see Raymond for as much as two weeks but I remember that I had 5 pretty good men working for me and we had few problems, none of which we could not correct. Some good memories of an early time in my life.
Rosalind Farnam Dudden
April 23, 2019
Barney Deden, Raymond's Nephew from Omaha, send me this wonderful story. I am copying it in here in two parts:
Part 1:
Your obituary for Uncle Raymond brings back some memories for me. In the fall of 1961 I drove a grain truck carrying a John Deere combine from Venango to Lubbock, Texas. It was one of three nearly new trucks and low profile combines. We were taking the combines to Lubbock for the fall harvest of milo in the fields of the Texas panhandle. As I recall we drove to Holyoke and down through Eastern Colorado and through the Oklahoma panhandle and on to Lubbock. Raymond needed an additional driver for the move and I had dropped out of college for the year. From Lubbock I took a bus to Denver and then on to Holyoke and spent that winter on the family farm while my mother and step father traveled. The next year I met Raymond in McCook on May 21st (my 21st birthday) and, from there I drove a 1949 farm truck which I think Uncle Raymond purchased at a farm sale and converted to a semi-tractor by installing a fifth wheel. He had found a badly used circus trailer to use as housing for a harvest crew and I pulled the trailer with that very under-powered truck to Lubbock for the 1962 harvest campaign. I didn't see Raymond after he left McCook until I reached Lubbock. I remember driving south across Kansas up and down very steep hills where I would go as fast as I could down hill to get enough speed to make it to the top of the next hill. All this time there was a very strong cross wind. When I stopped for lunch a highway patrolman forbid me (and several other trucks) not to leave the gas station until the wind subsided. I waited until I saw him leave going East and I then continued on South. The circus trailer had 8 or 10 bunks in the rear half and a kitchen and dining area in front. It was much better than camping out as some custom combine crews did in those days.
Rosalind Farnam Dudden
April 23, 2019
This is a portrait of Raymond and his first wife Marilyn, the mother of Fred and Cary. She passed away about 1962. This picture was probably taken about 1955.
Rosalind Farnam Dudden
April 23, 2019
This is a portrait of Raymond and Christine, his sister, probably when he was in high school. That would have been about 1942.
Rosalind Farnam Dudden
April 23, 2019
This is Raymond in 1943 in his Merchant Marine uniform. It was taken at Catalina Island, CA. Raymond served in the Merchant Marine for several years. We are investigating what that service was and will report what we find. The picture at the head of this memorial page is Raymond in the Army as a member of the 108th Airborne in 1946 and 1947. He was in the Army of the Occupation in China and Japan.
Again picture thanks to Kristi.
Rosalind Farnam Dudden
April 23, 2019
Another picture from Kristi. This is Raymond and his younger sister Christine when very young, maybe age 4 and 2. That would have been in 1928.
Rosalind Farnam Dudden
April 23, 2019
Kristi Shared this photograph with me. It shows Raymond with his brothers and sisters and his parents. It is certainly a good start to the large family that exists today.
Kristine Williams
April 19, 2019
I remember that my Uncle Raymond liked to fish. He and Pat would often pick a summer weekend to visit the Poudre Canyon, CO. They would park their camper between my house and my parent’s house next door. Raymond would fish the Poudre River for trout and always bring back a good catch! My dad, a great fry cook, would prepare the trout for a special fish dinner. Those were always fun visits. My folks were Herb and Berdena Sattler (Raymond’s brother-in-law and sister).
– Kristine Sattler Williams - (Raymond’s niece)