Loretha Juanita Yearout
1919-2014
Loretha was born June 4, 1919, at her parents’ home near Calvin, Oklahoma. Preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Jennie Musselman Rich, her husband, David Lloyd Yearout, and her son, David Lloyd Yearout, Jr., three brothers Charley, Leonard, and Ellis, and one sister, Mabel VanDusen.
Loretha attended Omega Public Schools, having skipped a class in the early grades, graduated in eleven ears in 1936. She and her husband, David Lloyd Yearout eloped March 14, 1938 in Guthrie, Oklahoma. He immediately left for California to find work and would save money to send home to Loretha so that they could start their life together.
In the very early part of their marriage they ran a small grocery and gas station near Omega until they saved enough to start farming. A son, David Lloyd Yearout, Jr., was born to them on Oct. 17, 1942. They made their home in the Omega community where they lived their entire married life. She was an active member of the Omega Christian Church and often helped with Vacation Bible School and various other activities of the church.
Loretha moved to Oklahoma City after her husband’s death in 1979. She soon made new friends in Oklahoma City while attending Putnam City Christian Church. She was an excellent cook and helped in their Mobile Meal Program cooking every week for Mobile Meals for well over 20 years. She helped cook in the cafeteria at the Oklahoma State Fair which was a big fund raiser for their church. She also became an avid quilter as people would bring unfinished quilts to the church and their little quilting group would gather weekly to do quilting for the community.
After moving to the city, Loretha discovered the joy of painting and with little encouragement from family and friends (we bought her paints, brushes, canvas and a few books) she soon was painting up a storm. She would spend hours at her kitchen table painting and soon every room in her home was decorated with her own art work.
Loretha’s favorite sport was Basketball, having developed the love for the game while playing on the Omega High School team. She and her husband attended several games at Stillwater when it was A&M, later following all the basketball games at Omega where her son attended school. She became an intense fan of the Bulls when Michael Jordan was playing and loved to watch the Thunder games.
Loretha moved to Epworth Villa in June 2004, and started another journey in her life. The loss of memory was staring to take hold on Loretha at this time and she moved into their Assisted Living center in 2009. She soon met new friends there who invited her to play bridge. There wasn’t a day go by that you couldn’t find the four of them in the sun room with a deck of cards. She was able to play bridge until the fall of 2012 at the age of 93.
Loretha is survived by one Grandson, Gregory Yearout and one Great-Grandson, Mitchell Yearout, both of Cashion. This is her life-this is her story. She has lived it well – she has earned her Glory!
Private Family Services