Charles Hanavan Jr.

Born in 1926 on a farm near Arapahoe, Colorado, Hanavan volunteered for the Army and attended Colorado A&M before taking up farming for himself and his wife and partner Patsy in Cheyenne County in 1948. His life is defined by service, from the local “Old Wells” 4-H Club, Cheyenne Wells Lions Club, School Board, Keefe Memorial Hospital, and Methodist Church to the state-level Colorado Farm Service Agency and Colorado Transportation Commission to the regional Rocky Mountain Farmers Union. Hanavan was instrumental in initiating the unit train loading of grain in Cheyenne Wells and Byers, reducing the cost of rail transportation to farmers. He helped many young beginning farmers and ranchers get started in farming and ranching through his leadership and service to others. Always at the heart of his service was the goal of making family farming, ranching, and rural communities thrive. Charles and Patsy celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary recently and raised 12 children and currently have 30 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren.