Joe Taylor Paden

Joe T. Paden, 83, a lifelong resident of Chetopa and owner of Paden's Barber Shop, passed away at 3:21 a.m., Saturday, September 20, 2014 at Mercy Hospital in Joplin. He was born February 5, 1931 in Chetopa, Kansas to George T. and Frances LaDonna "Dona" (Fitzgerald) Paden. He grew up in Chetopa where he attended school and was a 1949 graduate of Chetopa High School. After attending Tulsa Barber College and working two initial years in Fredonia, he joined his father at his shop in Chetopa which was founded in 1920. He was absent from the barber shop from 1955-1956 for two years of service in the United States Army. While in the Army as a Sergeant, he worked Saturdays at the PX barber shop in Fort Greeley, Alaska. The Chetopa Chamber of Commerce honored Joe in 2010 as the owner of the longest established business in the city. He was a member of the Chetopa Methodist Church and served the Chetopa Lodge of Freemasons as Worshipful Master. While his children were at home, he loved spending time waterskiing and swimming with his family and friends at Grand Lake. He enjoyed watching a hard-played football game. During the late 1960s through the early 1970s, he crafted and sold jewelry made from spoons to gift and souvenir shops in the Four State area. He was proud to have served five generations of some families in his barber shop. Joe's children and grandchildren were his joy. He and Peggy Piatt were married April 15, 1951 at the Chetopa Methodist Church. She survives of the home. In addition to his wife, survivors include one son, Mark Paden and his wife, Liz, Monkey Island, OK; one daughter, Mary Ann Vassar and her husband, Andrew, Tulsa, OK; one grandson, Nick Paden, Seattle, WA; one granddaughter, Erica Roberts and her husband, Taslow, Humble, TX; and one great-granddaughter, Avery Elizabeth Roberts. He was preceded in death by his parents, and an older brother, George Gordon "Wedge" Paden. Following cremation, memorial services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, September 26, 2014 at the Bath-Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Chetopa. The family will receive friends from 7-8:00 p.m., Thursday, at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the American Heart Association for research. These may be left at or mailed to Bath-Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home, P.O. Box 346, Chetopa, KS 67336. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Joe Taylor Paden, please visit our flower store.