Dr. Roger Henderson Hadley

Dr. Roger Henderson Hadley, professor emeritus at Oklahoma Baptist University, passed away Wednesday, February 14, 2024.  He was born in Upland, California, August 9, 1946, to Euler Henderson Hadley and Betty Roden Hadley.  Roger spent his early childhood in Baldwin Park, California, before moving to Joplin, Missouri, where he graduated high school in 1964.  In 1968 he graduated from what was then Southeastern State College in Durant, OK, where he excelled as a member of the debate team.  His success in debate led to his acceptance into law school at the University of Oklahoma.  However, prior to entering law school he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

After returning from his tour, he married his college sweetheart, Wanda Mae Burnett, of McAlester, OK, on August 2, 1970.  The young couple moved to Norman, OK, where Hadley completed a master’s degree and then his Ph.D. in mass communication.  Following graduation, Dr. Hadley taught at Oklahoma City Community College, The University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, and Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, before he and his family moved to Shawnee where he joined the faculty at Oklahoma Baptist University in 1985.

It was at OBU that Dr. Hadley developed and refined the Telecommunications Department, including the production of an award-winning local cable news broadcast.  His tireless commitment to education garnered him multiple accolades.  He was awarded the Fred Tewell Outstanding Communication Educator Award from the Oklahoma Speech Theatre Communication Association, OBU’s Distinguished Teacher Award, and he also co-founded the Oklahoma Broadcast Education Association.   But he was most proud of his students and their achievements, watching many of them build flourishing careers as TV and radio news personalities.  After 27 years at OBU, Dr. Hadley retired in 2012.  Upon his retirement, numerous former students who were positively impacted by his leadership came together to create the Dr. Roger H. Hadley Endowment for Study in Broadcasting and Digital Media at Oklahoma Baptist University to continue his educational impact in perpetuity.

Dr. Hadley was preceded in death by his parents, and by his stepmother, June Hadley.  He is survived by his wife, Wanda, of the home; his son, Cameron, and daughter-in-law, Cindy Hadley, and their two children, Hannah and Henry, all of Broken Arrow; his daughter, Lindsay, and her husband, Brandon Dyer, and their four children, Noah, Luke, Hadley, and Lily, all of Shawnee; a brother, Ron Hadley and his wife, Betty, of Kauai, Hawaii; three sisters, Amy West of Oakhurst, California, Pam Perkins of Grove, Oklahoma, and Debbie Sanford and her husband, Kevin, of Fairland, Oklahoma.  Also left to grieve their “Uncle Roger” are more than 30 nieces and nephews, their children, and their children’s children.

The memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 24, 2024, 10:00 am at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 501 N. Broadway Ave., Shawnee, Oklahoma 74801. It will be officiated by Fr. Tom Dahlman.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests honoring Dr. Hadley’s legacy by contributing to the “Dr. Roger H. Hadley Endowment for Study in Broadcasting and Digital Media” at Oklahoma Baptist University.