Clara Alzada Tuttle Durham, 93, youngest of nine children of C.C. Tuttle and Alice Florida Guynn Tuttle, was born Jan. 20, 1914, at the family home at Huggins. She died Nov. 12, 2007.
In 1915, the Tuttle family moved to a farm in Morris Township near Bado. Her mother died in February 1919. In May 1920, her father married Effie Stites and the family moved to Houston.
Mrs. Durham graduated from Houston High School in 1932 and later attended Southwest State Teachers College in Springfield.
She married Edwin J. Durham Jan. 31, 1942, at Santa Anna, Calif. During World War II, he worked in construction and the family lived in Oregon, Oklahoma, Washington and California. The day the war ended, they left California to come home to Houston and the farm on the Piney River.
Mrs. Durham worked on the farm, was a homemaker, wife and mother until 1963, when she was appointed public administrator of Texas County to complete the term left following her father’s death.
She was later elected and held the office until she retired in 1976. She continued to live on the family farm after the death of her husband in 1978. For the last five and a half years, she lived with her daughter, Ronda, at Sullivan.
Mrs. Durham enjoyed family history and her work with the Texas County Genealogical and Historical Society. She did hand quilting and made many quilts for family and friends.
She accepted Christ as Savior, was baptized in the Christian church and later became a member of the Oakdale Church.
In addition to her husband, parents and stepmother, she was preceded in death by four brothers, George and Earl, who died in infancy, Lawrence and C.C.; four sisters, Pearl McCall, Ivel Archer, Mearl Sponsler and Opal Bridges; stepsister, Pearl Stratton; a grandson and a great-grandson.
Surviving are her children, Gary Durham, Ronda Guth and Sonda Pawlak; nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Services are 11 o’clock Friday at the Evans Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Wesley Wallace officiating. Burial is in the Oakdale Cemetery.
Visitation is 6 to 8 o’clock tonight (Thursday) at the Evans chapel.
Memorials may be made to the Oakdale or Murr Cemetery.
