Ianthe Earles Byrd

Ianthe Earles Byrd was born in Marshall, Texas. Her parents were the late Jahue Lamar Earles and Elizabeth Brown Earles Oakes. Ianthe was predeceased by two of her siblings (Roosevelt Roy Oakes and James Isaac Oakes) and nephew Cedric Anthony Ladmirault. Ianthe was also predeceased by Winston Cleveland Miles, father of Dawn and Byron; and former husband Louis Byrd, Sr.

Jahue Lamar Earles and the late Argralia Stevenson Earles, her father and stepmother helped her to relocate from Texas to California in 1966. In Los Angeles, she and her family were members of Greater Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church where she served as a youth counselor.

Ianthe was quite a scholar. She is a graduate of Our Lady of the Lake, San Antonio, Texas (A.A.), California State University, Los Angeles (B.A.), and a double Master’s Degree (M.S.) in Counseling: School Counseling and Counseling: Higher Education. During her professional career she was an Elementary School Teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District; an Adult Education Teacher in Paramount Unified School District; a DIS (Designated Instructional Services) Counselor, and a High School Counselor in Lynwood Unified School District. She was affiliated with the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), National Association for School Psychologists (NASP), and the Non- Violence Crisis Prevention Intervention (NCPI) Program.

Ianthe entered eternal rest on Saturday, June 27, 2026. She leaves to cherish her memory her daughter, Dawn Chambers (Freeman, Jr.); son, Byron Miles (Eva); grandchild, Freeman Chambers III; sisters: Barbara Ladmirault and Esther Baldwin; brother: Reuben Edward Oakes; nephew: Cassius Oakes, and a host of relatives and friends.