October 28, 1932 - August 31, 2022

On August 31, 2022, Jack Haden passed away at the age of 89, just a couple months shy of his 90th birthday.  He was born the third of four children in Springfield, MO to James Clifford Haden and Minnie Marie Walsworth on October 28, 1932.  

After moving from Springfield to Kansas City, Kansas, Jack learned how to play tennis on the city courts and would take a bus across town to the Plaza to compete in junior tournaments.  His love for tennis trickled down to his children and grandchildren.  Into his 80’s they would have family tournaments with prizes and pizza.

It was no question that Jack’s career was one for the record books but the true success he had was that of his marriage to Chris Haden and his role as father, grandfather and great grandfather. Jack and Chris traveled the world together and played more tennis than any couple may have ever played.  They developed strong ties in the KC tennis community and although their love for each other ran deep they rarely let their opponent hold either one of them to “love”.

Jack graduated from Wyandotte High School and after he graduated married his first wife Norma Jeanne Haden.  They had 5 children together, Kim (married to Jim Fulk), Shauna (married to Sam Marrone), Jamie (married to Ann Williams), Kyle and Kristy (married to Bob Swank). Jack’s grandchildren are Aaron, Alison, Joe, Karrie Beth, Vincent, Paul, Noah, Seth, Drew, Steven and Grant.  Jack also has 11 great grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and friends.

In the early 80’s Jack met Christine Kanagawa at the UMKC dental school while he was teaching a continuing education program. After their marriage in 1985, they began a partnership in love, business (TMJ Seminars) and built a new dental building with a classroom where dentists from all over the world would come to learn Jack’s Hands on approach to treatment of head and neck pain.  He would teach them how to make orthotics, reposition the disc in the jaw joint, inject where the patients have pain, use of modalities such as ultrasound, TENS, and many other adjuncts to help relieve facial pain.

Jack graduated from the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Dentistry in 1959.  He did his Internship at Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii and was Chief Prosthetic Officer while stationed in Berlin, Germany.  He was the Past President of his dental Class and the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain.  Jack was a member of many dental societies and served on the board of many of them.  He was a great contributor to his profession.  Jack had published articles for journals in his field and with the help of his daughter Kim, wrote a syllabus for his seminars.  Jack was on the medical and dental staff at Providence and Bethany hospitals in Kansas City Kansas. Jack was on the building commission for the city of Kansas City, Kansas, the board of the Turner School District, President of the Optimist Club and many other service organizations.  Jack and his colleague Brendan Stack had an annual award named after them, honoring colleagues who have contributed to the professional advancement of TMJ and head and pain.  

Jack as well as his mother were known for storytelling and loving to talk.  Jack took his “gift” and traveled globally teaching other dentists how to diagnose and treat the temporomandibular joint and head and neck pain.  He was always proud of the fact he grew up on a dirt floor and came from humble beginnings but he knew this wasn’t his destiny.  With a determined outlook he set out for much bigger and better things. He was able to travel the world to teach.  He was always curious about other cultures, experiencing history, food and architecture in his travels were his passion.  Even after he moved into memory care, he would always ask if we could go on a trip together……

A visitation will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, 5601 W. 62^nd St., Mission, Kansas at 2:00 pm, Friday, October 28, 2022, followed by a memorial service at 3:00 pm. The family requests no flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Kansas City Hospice or the charity of your choice.