Ra Dene R. Hatfield - Early Years

Early Years

Hatfield was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hooper, Utah, that was settled by her ancestors under the direction of Brigham Young over 100 years ago. She is an active, lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Some of Hatfield's earliest memories were campaigning for her father in his district that stretched from Hooper east into Ogden. In the summer she along with her siblings would dress up in red, white, and blue and participate and ride in parades, always campaigning – "Elect Roger Rawson to Utah’s State Legislature". As a child Hatfield was impressed how her father, the son of poor dairy farmers, was someone who was making a difference, making things better for teachers, workers, and families in Utah. While in office Rawson said he always wanted to be known as a statesman, not a politician.

It was with this example, with her father in mind, that Hatfield attended Utah State University and received her BA in Political Science and Business Administration in 1983. While attending USU, Hatfield served an internship in then Republican U.S. Senator Jake Garn's office in Washington, D.C. While working as an intern, Hatfield met her husband, Harlan M. Hatfield, and after a year of courtship and Hatfield finishing up her undergraduate program, they were married in the Salt Lake Temple in June 1983.

Both Harlan and RaDene decided to go on and continue their education. While Harlan worked on his Jurist Doctorate, RaDene earned a master's degree in public policy from one of the top government schools in the country at the University of Minnesota. Because she excelled in her graduate work, Hatfield was able to work as a student in the Minnesota Attorney General's office on a legislative tax committee and as a research assistant at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs in Minneapolis.

The graduate work prepared RaDene to go on and perform substantial public service as can be seen by her masters program colleagues going on to become city managers, directors of non-profit organizations, commissioners in state education departments, and even a US Senator. But because of her strong family values, after receiving her masters degree, Hatfield decided it was time to stay home with her children for the next few years.