LaRhea D. Quarles, longtime resident of Fairfax, passed away Wednesday, March 8, 2006.

A service will be held Friday, March 10, 2006, at 10 a.m. at Fairfax Cemetery with The Rev. Kathryn Ramsay, lay pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Hominy, presiding. Burial was under the direction of Hunsaker-Wooten Funeral Home.

LaRhea was born March 14, 1923, in Kansas City, Mo., the daughter of Harvey and Susie Gary Deatherage. She came with her family to Wagoner at a young age. She grew up in Wagoner and graduated high school there. She then attended Oklahoma A & M in Stillwater where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree. She then moved to Fairfax and began teaching business courses at the high school. LaRhea taught typing, bookkeeping and shorthand.

While in Fairfax, she met Riley Quarles and they were married on Dec. 29, 1946, at her parent?s home in Wagoner. The couple made their home in Fairfax where she continued teaching.

After the birth of their daughter, Annie, LaRhea decided to stay home to care for her family.

LaRhea was a member of the Presbyterian Church and worshiped in Fairfax for many years until the church moved to Hominy. She was also a very active member of the PEO for more than 50 years and has served in many offices, including serving as a delegate to the International Convention.

Additionally, LaRhea was a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority.

She is survived by: her daughter, Annie Elsberry and her husband, Stephen, of Pawhuska; two granddaughters, Jill Elsberry of Tulsa and Marianne Austin and her husband, Caleb, of Oklahoma City; one niece, Ruth Ann Flint of Cantonment, Fla.; two nephews, Rick Brown of Albuquerque, N.M., and Bob Brown of Alexandria, Va.; and her special dog, Cuddles.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Riley, on June 13, 1992, her parents, and one sister, Mary Lou Brown.

The Wagoner Tribune - March 16, 2006