Juhree Cecille (Gardner) Ladd
Oct 8, 1937 - Sep 19, 2014
Posted by Janet Laubhan Flickinger

http://www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com/

Juhree Cecille Ladd, 76, passed away on Friday, September 19, 2014 in Norman after a brief illness. Juhree was born on October 8, 1937 in Oklahoma City, to A.C. and Johnnie Lou Gardner.  She loved, and was loved, by her family and many life-long friends.

Juhree is survived by her husband of 56 years, Benton Ladd, and their 3 children, Ginger Kohler and her husband Kurt, Jim Ladd and his wife Jacki, and Jack Ladd and his wife Danielle, and grandchildren, Erik Kohler, Kelly Kohler, Julia Larway, Ava Ladd, Addis Ladd, Dixie Juhree Ladd, and Josie Belle Ladd. 

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, John Ed Gardner.

Juhree was born in Oklahoma City, but spent her early years in Midwest City, graduating from Midwest City High School in 1955. After high school, she attended the University of Oklahoma where she met her future husband, Benton Ladd, an offensive lineman for the Oklahoma Sooners. He proposed to her the night that OU’s 47-game win streak was broken by Notre Dame in 1957. They were married 7 months later and moved to Hobbs, New Mexico.  After a few years in Hobbs, they moved to Tishomingo, OK and she completed her education at East Central State College in Ada. Norman became her home in 1965. Through the years, Juhree was a mother to her three children, dabbled in real estate, painting and pottery, and eventually settled into a job she loved at the State Capitol. There she served as a secretary in the House of Representatives for 25 years. Throughout those years and after retirement, she was an avid tennis player, an excellent bridge player, and loved everything about the Oklahoma Sooners, though she did have great affection for a certain Washington Husky football player.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, at the Havenbrook Funeral Home. Funeral Services for Juhree will begin at 11 a.m., Thursday, September 25, 2014 at the First Baptist Church, 211 W. Comanche in Norman. 

Arrangements for Juhree and her family were placed in the care of the Vice family at the Havenbrook Funeral Home of Norman.

Online condolences may be shared at www.HavenbrookFuneralHome.com.