Less than a year ago, longtime Utah rodeo cowboy and administrator Jack Hannum died at the age of 70, passing away within hours after the death of his wife of more than 45 years, Lynn.

It was a touching final chapter to the tender love story of two great people who raised a tremendous family of five kids in the northwest Weber County community of West Haven. Jack and Lynn, a longtime elementary school teacher, each lived such wonderful, productive lives and were taken from this earth much too soon.

But there’s no doubt that their love story has continued on in the eternities.

Jack Hannum certainly left behind a tremendous legacy in the sport of rodeo, not only as a highly successful competitor, but as a longtime administrator who served the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) for more than 25 years, dealing with everything from rodeo sanctioning applications, rule infractions and membership to being a circuit coordinator and the supervisor of officials.

His sons, Olin and Jake, are longtime rodeo cowboys themselves who have both competed in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo and still compete to this day. And all three of the Hannum’s daughters — Jane, Amee and Emily — competed in the sport as well during their high school and college years.

Last weekend, Jack Hannum received the crowning jewel to that lasting rodeo legacy of his when he was posthumously inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Colorado Springs.

“It’s probably the most prestigious thing there is, even more prestigious than being a world champion,” his son Jake of Plain City said. “You go over there and walk through that Hall of Fame, there’s a lot of great history and a lot of guys in there who won a lot of championships, and a lot of great competitors and other people who did a lot for rodeo.”

It was a mighty fitting tribute to a mighty man who spent more than half of his life involved in rodeo, first as a five-time qualifier for the NFR and then for more than a quarter of a century as an administrator whose dedication to the sport raised the bar as far as officiating and the judging of contestants.

The PRCA’s website credits him with “elevating the PRCA judging system to the major-league level.”

“Our dad loved rodeo and the PRCA and cared about the cowboys,” his son, Olin, said regarding his dad’s Hall of Fame induction in a story posted on the PRCA Wilderness Circuit website. “There aren’t many rodeos that we go to that our dad didn’t win. This is a great honor and tribute to him, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

“All five of us have our own families, so it’s hard to get all of us together,” Jake Hannum was quoted as saying on the Wilderness Circuit website. “This was a way that dad brought us all here together today, and it was very special.”

“Aggie Jack” was a standout football player at Morgan High School and at Utah State University, where he was a somewhat undersized offensive and defensive lineman who was a team co-captain and had a reputation for being extremely strong, tenacious and tough as nails.

It wasn’t until his senior year at Utah State that he started getting seriously involved with rodeo.

After college, Hannum coached football and taught math at Union High School in Roosevelt, Utah, where he guided the school to an undefeated season and its first state championship in 1965 — joining a select group of coaches who guided their teams to state titles and went unbeaten in their first seasons. He went on to coach at Clearfield High School from 1969-76 and retired from coaching with a career record of 53-43-2.

Hannum waited until 1972, at the age of 29, to fill his Rodeo Cowboys Association permit. And, after retiring from coaching, he made his first big rodeo breakthrough in 1977 when, in his first year of full-time competition, he won the Cheyenne (Wyoming) Frontier Days all-around title — becoming the first PRCA cowboy to win more than $10,000 in a single rodeo. That same year, he qualified for the National Finals Rodeo for the first time as a tie-down roper.

He reached the NFR four more times as a steer wrestler (1978-80 and 1983) and enjoyed his best season in 1979 when he finished third in the world standings.

During his career as a competitor, Hannum was a five-time Wilderness Circuit All-Around champion, an eight-time Wilderness Circuit steer wrestling champion, a three-time Wilderness Circuit tie-down roping champion, and a Wilderness Circuit team roping champion.

In 1981, Hannum was hired by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association board to serve in an administrative position, and he served in various capacities for the PRCA for more than 25 years after that.

“Jack wrote the judging handbook; he started the judging seminars we still do today,” longtime PRCA official George Gibbs was quoted on its website. “He just raised the bar. He had everybody’s respect. He was always fair, always dedicated to making things better.”

“He gave up teaching and coaching so he could dedicate his life to rodeo and take a job at the PRCA because it meant so much to him,” Olin Hannum was quoted on the ProRodeo Hall of Fame website. “He always wanted to influence things for the best, and make rodeo better.”

“He taught me a pretty wide spectrum of stuff,” Jake Hannum said. “He always wanted more than anything to let his actions do his talking for him, whether it was changing the judging program or competing or whatever it was. He wasn’t big on getting awards, he just wanted to fix things and make ’em better. It took a lot of people to make it better, it wasn’t just him.

“I know one time I got frustrated in a basketball game when I was in junior high, and when I came off the court, I untucked my jersey and he told me ‘Don’t ever do that again or I won’t come watch you play any more.’ I know I’ve got a long, long ways to go to try and accomplish what he did in his life.”

Hannum died of organ failure on Sept. 16, 2014. He had suffered a ruptured gallbladder in early July of 2014 and had spent time in hospitals or rehab facilities in St. George and Ogden for several weeks as his health steadily declined.

He was able to go home briefly to West Haven last Sept. 13 to see his wife, Lynn, for a few hours before returning to McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden.

“They had one last Diet Coke together and got to say goodbye,” longtime family friend Tim Parker said.

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Lynn Hannum, 68, a former PRCA timer, died at their home on Sept. 15, 2014, after a six-year battle with colon cancer.

Jack gathered his children and told them he was “gonna go be with mom,” and he died the next day.

I guess that’s what all good ol’ cowboys do. And, heaven knows, he was a great one.

EMAIL: rhollis@desnews.com

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