- Date Of Birth: June 9, 1926
- Date Of Death: May 29, 2017
- State: West Virginia
Okareta Stemple, 90, of Kingwood, WV, formerly of Terra Alta, died Monday, May 29, 2017 at Preston Memorial Hospital in Kingwood.
The daughter of the late Thomas Franklin Friend and Florence Pearl Knotts, she was born June 9, 1926, in Tucker County, WV.
Rita was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend to many in Kingwood and the Terra Alta community. She was active in the Terra Alta First United Methodist Church and contributed to PTA, band boosters, and 4-H throughout her children’s lives. She was also known as a great seamstress and especially, a quilt maker.
Rita was preceded in death by her husband Howard W. Stemple, and by her first husband Clifford Lee Hardesty, Sr; and by four brothers: Ralph, Earl, Argle, and Willard Friend. She was the last living member of her immediate family.
She is survived by two sons: Cliff Hardesty Jr., and wife Christine St. Andre of Park City, UT; Roger Hardesty and wife Susan Hardesty of Kingwood, WV; two daughters: Pamela O’Sullivan and husband Thomas O’Sullivan of Kinsale, Ireland; and Lisa McGinness and husband Richard McGinness of Hague, VA; four grandchildren: Ryan Hardesty and Greg Cress of Morgantown, WV; Evan Hardesty and Erica of Reedsville, WV; Emily and Erin McGinness of Hague, VA; and twin great-grand-children, Maeve and Nolan Hardesty of Reedsville, WV.
Friends will be received on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at the Rotruck-Lobb Kingwood Chapel, 295 South Price Street, from 11:00 a.m.
