A man who was the heart and soul of The Purcell Register for 51 years died March 13.

Henry Ketchum began his tenure at The Register in 1966 and retired from the newspaper in June 2017.

Then Mayor Ted Cox proclaimed June 15, 2017 Henry Ketchum Day in Purcell.

Ketchum began his career at The Register in 1966 and was the shop foreman and head printer. He also ran the job shop at the newspaper for many, many years.

Ketchum assisted with the layout and production of the paper and worked under the ownerships of Jim Nance, Tom McCurdy and the Montgomery family.

Ketchum, who was the face and chief photographer for the newspaper for many years, was a member of the Oklahoma Press Association Half Century Club.

A complete obituary may be found about Henry on page 10A.