Lela Ann Tarbox

Lela A. Tarbox, age 81, Bradley, the widow of Arthur Tarbox, died early Thursday morning, September 9, 2010 in a Clark care center where she had resided for a week. Funeral services will be held on Monday, September 13, 2010 at 10:30 AM in the Furness Funeral Home Chapel at Clark with the Reverend Roger Shepherd officiating. Burial will follow in the Prairie Hill Cemetery at Bradley. Music will be provided by Jennifer Rott. The casketbearers will be her grandchildren and a great grandson, Erica (Ryan) Caulfield, Carmen Kasin, Corey (Nicole) Kasin, Tyler (Jamie) Tarbox and Malik Dunn. Visitation will be held on Sunday from 4-6 PM and after 9AM until service time all at the Furness Funeral Home Chapel in Clark. Lela was born on July 2, 1929 in Cottonwood Township, near Bradley, the daughter of William J. and Wilma Maxine (Frybarger) Whitlock. She attended a country school then graduated from Bradley High School in 1948. After high school, she attended Northern Normal in Aberdeen and obtained her teachers certificate. Lela taught school for a short time in a country school northwest of Bradley. On March 26, 1949 she was united in marriage to Arthur Artie Tarbox at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Clark. The couple continued his farming operation south of Bradley. During the 1950s, Art and Lela operated a caf in Bradley for several years. Lela enjoyed being on the farm, doing many chores including raising chickens, gathering eggs, separating cream from the milk of their dairy operation, gardening and canning. She will long be remembered for her canning of deer meat, especially for Harry and her homemade doughnuts, now a recipe Nancy carries on. Cooking for everyone at the farm and the out-of-state hunters was something she looked forward too for many years. A favorite pastime of hers at the farm was watching the wild turkeys which overtime, the flock became hers! Lela could also be found out in the hayfield hauling bales or being a dead-eye at shooting gophers. In the community, she was very active in the Bradley Baptist Church until it closed. She was a Sunday School teacher and a member of the Ladies Aid. She also served as a 4-H leader for several years. The couple remained on the farm until entering the Golden Living Center at Watertown in June of 2009. Her husband of over 61 years died on August 7 of this year. Among survivors who are grateful for having shared in her life are a son, Harry (Darlene) Tarbox of Bradley, a daughter, Nancy (Harris) Kasin of Wallace, four grandchildren, Carmen Kasin, Corey (Nicole) Kasin, Erica (Ryan) Caulfield and Tyler (Jamie) Tarbox; a great-grandson, Malik Dunn; siblings, William Whitlock of Ohio, Donald Dutch (Deloris) Whitlock, Richard (Ramona) Whitlock all of Watertown, Dennis Whitlock of CA, Judy (Harlan) Johnson and Robert Whitlock all of Watertown. Preceding her in death were her parents, husband and two sisters, Alene Joyce and Mavis Whitlock. Arrangements will be announced by the Furness Funeral Home of Clark where there is an on-line registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com