Earline (Squyres) McJunkin

Earline Squyres McJunkin was born May 24th, 1927 in Hulbert, OK. She was the fourth and last child born to Earl and Clara Smith Squyres who called her “their baby” the rest of their lives. After graduating from Hulbert High School she attended NSU graduating with a Music Education degree at age 18… As a student at NSU she received many honors including “Who’s who in American Colleges and Universities” in 1945-46. Being the baby of her family, she was extremely homesick to be so far from Hulbert and went home every weekend!

During college her sister introduced her to a young man (George McJunkin) and they double dated until he enlisted in the Marines and was deployed to the South Pacific for World War Two. Four years later when he returned home from war, they married at the Squyres’ home in Hulbert, where her father could be heard sobbing in the next room! They moved to Yale, OK where she taught school and George commuted to OSU-Stillwater to complete his degree in geology. During this time he was also employed as a teacher/football and basketball coach at Yale High School. In 1948 their only child Caren Claire was born in Yale. George was then employed at Halliburton Oil as a geologist in Cushing so the family moved there where Earline continued to teach. In 1958 their desire to move back home brought them back to Tahlequah and George became employed at then Liberty State Bank. Earline taught in the Tahlequah Public Schools system.

About 1964 Earline decided to stop teaching and became a business woman by creating the Carousel, a tot-to-teen boutique on Main Street, later adding a hair Salon in the back that became a gathering place for ladies of all ages. Coffee and cookies were always in good supply. Many years later she became a fulltime homemaker and caregiver to her beloved George when his health was failing. During these years they built their dream home at Fair Meadow Farm, had some cattle, a few horses, a couple of goats, and shared an idyllic life watching the sun rise and set as they held hands on their porch swing.

Caren married Heinie in 1973. In 1979 Luke was born followed by Justin George in 1985 and life changed dramatically! They became “her boys” and everyone knew it. Fair Meadow Farm became their Disneyland-Oklahoma style. She said she could never play favorites with her boys because “one was her heart and the other was her soul”. Her boys loved spending summers there riding horses, 4-wheeling, swimming, and feeding the catfish. Eating her famous brownies and homemade ice cream by the pool was fun too.

Then, in 1993, George died. She sold the farm and moved to Scottsdale, AZ in 1995 where she made some wonderful friends at First Southern Baptist Church, two of whom are here today, Mrs. Nancy Norwood her Sunday School Teacher for 16 years, and her husband Dr. Berry Norwood, their pastor.

As age advanced she decided to move closer to Heinie, Caren, and her boys in Denver, where she remained until her passing on December 3rd, 2020.

She was fortunate enough to meet her great granddaughter, Sloane Claralee Stahmer (called Scout) born April 6th, 2020 to Kathryn and Justin.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Clara Squyres, brothers, Max (Louise), and Raberne (Myrtle), and sister, Doris Hinds (Bill) and is survived by dozens of nieces and nephews that she adored.