Red Bluff Round-Up Director Passes Away
Long-time Red Bluff Round-Up board member Jolene Kemen died on January 7, 2019. The Red Bluff native was the third generation of her family to be involved with the Round-Up and gave extensively of her time and talents for it.
Red Bluff, Calif. (January 11, 2019) – Jolene Kemen, a director for the Red Bluff Round-Up, has passed away. She was 66 years old.
Kemen, the first woman director for the Round-Up, became a director in 1996. She was often found behind the scenes, doing the work that Round-Up fans never saw, said Mike Dudley, president of the Round-Up. “She did an awful lot of things you wouldn’t ever know if you didn’t know her.”
Kemen launched the Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign for the Round-Up in 2006, working with Mercy Foundation North and Dignity Health St. Elizabeth Community Hospital to raise nearly $500,000 for those undergoing cancer treatment. Alongside Harvey Camacho, she was instrumental in bringing the PRCA’s youth camp to Red Bluff and was the primary organizer for the camp, lining up cowboy instructors, the venue, and taking care of the details.
She was also good at “taking care” of people, providing gift baskets for rodeo personnel, and little things that made their time in Red Bluff more memorable. Kemen organized gift basket donations from the Round-Up for various fundraisers, including the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, the Cattlemen and Cattlewomen’s dinner, and other Tehama County events.
John Trede, past president and long-time director of the Round-Up, said she will be greatly missed. “She loved the Round-Up. It was part of her life,” he said. “She was very proud of being on the Round-Up board and enjoyed giving back to the community she loved and was raised in.”
Kemen, who was a PRCA gold card member, also took care of decorations for the Round-Up’s annual appreciation meal, held the weekend before the rodeo. “She spearheaded the work to make sure the decorations were perfect,” Trede said. “She was very meticulous. She did a lot of the little things that nobody else wanted to do.”
Kemen’s maternal grandfather, Harry Andrews, was one of the original stock holders for the Round-Up. Her parents Dean and Joy Zeeveld, supported the Round-Up and owned shares of stock that they passed down to Jolene.
She is survived by her husband, Cliff, son, Todd (Stefanie) and their two sons, and daughter, Lynn (Logan) Keller and their two daughters. She was an organ donor; three people have new life because of her gift.
A celebration of life will be held in her honor at a later date.