Jim Maddox combined roles as educator, businessman, legislator and civic leader

He was a Lawton boy who grew up to teach at his alma mater.

An educator who played a pivotal role in the creation and success of Great Plains Technology Center. A successful small business owner. A legislator who supported his love of education and small business at the Oklahoma Capitol while becoming a strong voice for Southwest Oklahoma.

Jim Maddox, 85, died last week at his home in central Lawton. While he was born in Chickasha, he grew up in Lawton, attending Lawton schools and graduating from Lawton High before he returned there after college to teach speech, government and debate for nine years. He became a business owner, operating Maddox Pest Control for 27 years. And he took an active role in his community, combining that with his role as educator by becoming involved in talks that became the seed that grew into Great Plains Area Vocational-Technology School, now Great Plains Technology Center. The link to Great Plains was a family affair: his late wife Leslie worked in Great Plains’ economic development area.

Maddox’s efforts to bring a vocational technical school to Southwest Oklahoma continued for years, and he was one of five members of the Great Plains board of education. Jim Strate, former deputy superintendent of Great Plains and former superintendent at Autry Technology Center in Enid, remembers an educator and community leader who understood the importance of technology education.

‘A visionary’

“Jim Maddox was a visionary, looking out of the Oklahoma ‘Vo-tech’ system,” Strate said. “As a Great Plains Technology Center school board member, Jim understood the importance of a well trained workforce, needed to support the economic development of Southwest Oklahoma and the state. After being elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives and later while serving in the Senate, Senator Maddox was a champion for small business development and continued to support Oklahoma Career Techs and this part of the Southwest Oklahoma by helping find ways to develop quality workforce opportunities.”

It was only the lure of public office that drew Maddox away from Great Plains. He was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1988, serving six years before capturing the vacant District 32 Senate seat in 1994 and holding it until term limits forced him out in 2004. Colleagues said he brought a business owner’s perspective to the Capitol, which may be why some of his work included workers compensation reform. He had other interests, such as expanding mental health services. Education remained a priority, as did economic development.

Former House Speaker Lloyd Benson counted Maddox as a friend, dating to the time they served in the House.

“He was a dedicated and strong member of the Comanche County delegation,” Benson said. “He really earned the respect of all members because of his diligent work and his willingness to fight for things that were important, particularly if Lawton and Southwest Oklahoma was involved.”

Benson said Maddox was low key, serving in an arena with people who were much more verbose.

“He didn’t debate a lot, but when he did, he was one of those people that everybody listened to,” Benson said, remembering that when some long-winded politicians rose to speak, others often left the chambers, something that didn’t happen when Maddox rose to speak. “Everybody paused and listened to what he had to say, because they knew he had done his homework and knew what the issues were.”

His experience with Great Plains’ board gave him an edge on issues that involved career technology, while his background in education made him a resource on education. Benson said Maddox helped change the state funding formula for career technology centers, ensuring smaller sites got their fair share.

“He was interested in everything that was going to make Oklahoma stronger,” he said.

Former House Rep. Don Armes said Maddox, a Democrat, believed in strength in unity and didn’t let party define what he believed and who he supported.

“He and most of the local guys were very accepting of me, even though we were different parties,” said Armes, a Republican whose first term in the House overlapped with Maddox’s last years at the Capitol. “I felt like Jim really cared about home and the area he served.”

A team player at the Capitol

Armes said the goal then was to work as a team to get something done, and Maddox was a team player working on issues vital to Southwest Oklahoma.

“He cared about the area he served very much and was kind and decent,” Armes said, adding that in the days when Democrats were the majority party, Maddox was pretty conservative (something Maddox said about himself). “What was good for the area, what was good for the businessman, that mattered to him.”

Twyla McDonald had two connections to Maddox. While both were members of the Kiwanis Club, her first memories date to childhood, when Maddox was her parents’ neighbor.

“He was community oriented. I feel that was why he was in Kiwanis,” she said, adding he also had a good memory.

She remembers going out to breakfast one morning and running into Maddox, who was at the same cafe eating. It was a long time since they had seen each other and while Maddox didn’t immediately remember her name, he knew her face.

“He wanted to know what I was doing,” McDonald said, as the two began to talk.

Her favorite memory is one many associate with Maddox, who had a decades-long habit of recognizing the accomplishments of others.

“If anybody had a picture in the paper, he cut it out and sent it to them, with a card,” McDonald said. “I remember I was in the paper one time, and he sent it to me.”

Acknowledged efforts of others

Family members say Maddox began his habit of acknowledging the unique efforts and contributions of others in the 1970s, estimating that over 45 years he wrote thousands of letters to people — those he knew and those he didn’t.

Dede Armes, a fellow Kiwanis Club member, said Maddox was just that kind of man.

“He was a sweet guy,” she said, adding he also had sweet tastes — one of her favorite memories of Maddox is that while she never saw him eat a meal at Kiwanis, he always had dessert and coffee.

Armes said Maddox also was an organizer, the one who “always kept us on track” at meetings and who ensured that whoever was in charge of meetings had a guest speaker at every one. Armes said Maddox was a long-time Kiwanis, dating to a time when the club was restricted to men. Armes was one of the first female Kiwanis and she said Maddox was among the group of men who “took care of us” when women began attending meetings.

She said Maddox had a reputation as being ornery and could be focused when he wanted something. He also had a great memory for people and faces, and knew enough about people to inquire about their lives and relatives.

“He was personable. And, he was personal,” she said, explaining he genuinely cared.