Mead John Hedglon III

On the morning of January 24, 2026, Mead John Hedglon III, "Tip", a devoted husband, father, grandfather, faithful Catholic, sailor, pilot and "old lawyer" passed away peacefully in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was 82 years old.

Mead is survived by his wife, Emily "Leda" Hedglon, daughter, Karen Hedglon Gould, son-in-law, Kevin Gould, grandson, Troy Gould, granddaughter, Emily Gould Peterson, grandson, Trent Gould, granddaughter, Ella Gould, brothers, Peter and Michael Hedglon, sister, Mary Hedglon Catt and many nieces and nephews.

Mead was born in Syracuse, New York to his parents Mead John Hedglon Jr. and Laura McCarthy Hedglon. He met his beloved wife, Leda, in a class while they were both attending Syracuse University. They were alphabetically seated next to one another. Thus began a union of souls spanning over 60 years and many, many, miles.

Without pretense and with a lot of humor (while being dead serious), Mead went about his life consuming and filing away in his mind as much information as he could. He used this information to provide assistance and support in any circumstance that he came upon (sometimes whether people wanted the help or not). Sharing, not only information and experience but essentially anything he owned with anyone, demonstrated his mile wide empathy streak and compassion but don't try to hug him ... he was no softie! Perhaps one of the most impressive testaments to his disposition, despite being terrified of needles, was how he religiously donated his O negative blood every six weeks. He could have stitched those blood donor t-shirts together to make sails for his boat because he had so many, but instead he doled them out to his grandchildren or wore them until they shredded, then cut them into rags to "keep the sweat out of your eyes."

If friends were represented by coins collected in a jar, Mead had many overflowing jars. Friends were collected largely in association with his many interests and activities. Some of the more dominant interests included: philosophy and the law, Catholicism and spirituality, sports cars and racing, planes (he and Leda both had their instrument-rated, private pilot licenses), boats, history and politics, books of all kinds and book club BUT most of all people. He believed and practiced that the best investment is in people.

Tragically his fascinating mind was stolen away from him and all the people who loved him by dementia and Alzheimers. The disease progressed slowly over the course of ten years. The past two plus years were the hardest. He was strong and continued to walk right up till ten days before his death. His death came on quickly and caught family and friends by surprise. While the loss of his physical presence is deeply, painfully felt for those who were closest to him, his release from the insidious disease is an enormous relief. Thus we will be celebrating and laughing in tandem while shedding tears of grief. We are certain many friends who departed along Mead's life journey are delighted to receive him back into their company. All his investments are paying off.

Visitation will be from 4-8 PM, Friday, January 30th at Crawford Buchanan Funeral Home.

A Funeral Mass will be held on January 31, 2026, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM at Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church, located at 7336 W Britton Rd, Oklahoma City.

A celebration of life luncheon will follow the Mass also at Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mead's name to either of these organizations.

Office for Intellectual Freedom, a branch of the American Libraries Association

American Brain Foundation