Funeral service for Barton Craig "Bampa" Hadley, Sr., 72, Lawton, will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 21, 2014, in First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Mark J. Henslee and Rev. John Saville officiating. Mr. Hadley died Monday, October 13, 2014, in Lawton. Burial with fire department honors will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens under the direction of the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home. He was born in Arkansas City, Kansas on March 15, 1942 to Colonel Cleo & Jessie Hadley. Being an 'Army Brat' they lived & traveled all over the country & the world. They were even on the last voyage back to the U.S. aboard the, 'Queen Mary'! The family settled in Lawton in 1956. While in high school he met the love of his life and on Nov 2, 1959 he married Roberta L. Wheeler. They were married for 54 years before her passing on Nov. 29th, 2013. Craig graduated from Lawton High School in 1960, where he was a member of the football team that played for the state championship and where he was also a state champion in discus. He graduated with degrees from both Oklahoma State University and from Cameron University. After graduating he served as an adjunct professor for both Universities He spent 33 years as a Lawton Firefighter, retiring in 1999 as the Deputy Fire Chief. He helped modernize the Lawton Fire Department and he is credited with raising the professionalism and educational levels within the department. One such example is that Craig was the first Nationally Certified Emergency Medical Technician in the department's history. Today, all firefighters are required to acquire this level of certification. He was a first responder during the Rescue and recovery operations at the Oklahoma City Murrah Building bombing. He received numerous awards throughout his fire service career, including Firefighter of the Year and was a five time recipient of the Community Service Award. During his career he was elected and served as President of the Lawton Firefighters Association, President of the Professional Firefighters of Oklahoma, and President of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association. He was very involved in giving back to the community. He coached numerous little league sports teams over the years, including coaching his son, and his grandson's teams. He was successful in coaching as well, as he won multiple City Championships over the years. He also spent several decades officiating high school and adult sports. In 2003 he was elected into the Oklahoma American Softball Association Hall of Fame as an umpire. One of the many community awards and designations he received came in 1996, when he was selected as a national "Community Hero" and therefore was honored to carry the Olympic Torch as it made its way through Oklahoma to the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. He was a member of numerous civic organizations throughout his life. His focus since his retirement was as a member of the Lawton Noon Lion's Club. He was selected as the Oklahoma District Governor of the state Lions. He was named a Lions Melvin Jones Fellow. He also received the Lion's Humanitarian Award, the Lions George F. Hazelbaker, Lifetime Service Award for 2011-2012. He and his wife hosted over a dozen Foreign Exchange Students from all parts of the world. He served as an Elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church where he was a member for more than 40 years. These are but a few of the many many examples of his dedication for service and his desire to continually give back to the community he helped make a great place to live. He is survived by children Barton Craig Hadley, Jr, & wife Andrea Hadley of Lawton, Donna G. Hadley-Harris & husband Bill Harris of Duncan & Susan L. Hadley of Chickasha, brother Steven K. & wife Jean Hadley of Dallas, Texas, Brother-in-law Bob Wheeler Jr. of San Ramon, California, Sister-in-law Kathleen Beck of Lawton, Sister-in-law Margaret Allison and husband John Allison of Lawton, Sister-in-law Mary Beth Wheeler of Delta Colorado., and brother-in-law Ronald Wheeler of Lawton. He had 12 grandchildren & 6 great grandchildren in Lawton and numerous nieces and nephews scattered around the country as well. He was preceded in death was by his parents, his wife Roberta, by her parents, Robert & Margaret Wheeler of Lawton, grandson Robert Brooks Hadley, sister-in-law Victoria Wheeler of California, father-in-law Vic Ramirez of Lawton, brother-in-laws Frank Beck of Lawton & David Wheeler of Delta, Colorado. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lawton Noon Lions Club, P.O. Box 673, Lawton OK 73502.