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Earla Margaret Clendenin- February 26, 1923- December 7, 2010. Born Earla Margaret Baldridge in Dewey, Oklahoma, a small town located in northeastern Oklahoma, and in the heart of the Cherokee Nation, Earla's recent passing on Pearl Harbor Day represented that of another member of what Americans respectfully remembered as The Greatest Generation. While here on this earth she will be remembered by those who knew her as a mother, wife, grandmother, great - grandmother, and friend, as one who drew inspiration and meaning from her Lord and Savior; one who lived her life as a testament to His love and promise of eternal redemption. Earla received her Bachelor's degree from Bacone College in Talequah, Oklahoma, a small Southern Baptist teaching college established originally to provide higher education opportunities to Indian students whose families and tribes had been forcibly removed from their original homelands in the southeastern United States, and ultimately resettled in what was prior to statehood known as The Indian Territory. Earla's grandparents, Richard and Annie Wilkerson were full-blooded Cherokee. Her mother, Kate Baldridge, was the last Cherokee in her family to speak the language fluently. It was during her time at Bacone that Earla met, and eventually married her first husband, George Leslie Vicente, a young Jicarilla Apache man from Dulce, New Mexico. As the nation girded itself for war, Earla and George voluntarily joined the armed forces, as did most members of their generation. Eager to defend their country, both were inducted for service, pending the results of physical examinations. George was deemed physically fit to serve, but Earla's attempt to do so was thwarted by the discovery that she was pregnant with her first child, a girl, Kathryn Ann Vicente. Earla was granted an honorable discharge from the service. George joined the Army Air Force, and flew bombing missions from Italy where he was stationed, to targets across Europe. It was during one of those missions that George was shot down over then Romania. His body never located, George was initially listed as missing in action, and eventually declared deceased by the United States military one year later. It would be a life time later before his service would be forever memorialized in stone. In the middle 1950's, Earla and Kathryn resettled in Zuni, New Mexico, where Earla began the first of thirty two years teaching in the Gallup McKinley County School system. Earla's mother Kate eventually joined them in Zuni where she and Earla established the first Southern Baptist mission in Zuni. Some of my earliest childhood memories took place there: Watching the Shalako Ceremony on a cold, December evening, and enjoying sunny outdoor family picnics under the peaceful, beautiful blue northwest New Mexico sky. While teaching in Zuni, Earla met and married her second husband, my father, Hobart Joe Gates. A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Eagle Butte, South Dakota, Hobart served his country in the United States Army first at Pearl Harbor, and eventually deployed to northern Europe, where he fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Upon his return to the United States, Hobart found employment with the Navajo Tribal Police. While their marriage ended in divorce, Earla gave birth in Gallup to her son, John Gates in 1957. Earla dedicated her working years to public education, both on and near the Zuni and Navajo Reservations. Teaching primarily second graders, Earla continuously reminded her own children the importance of obtaining an education in order to face the challenges a changing world would bring. Her influence as a mother and teacher seem to have rubbed off on her two children. Kathryn received her Bachelor's degree from Adams State, and her Master's degree in special education from Bradley University. John followed Kathryn and obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico, and his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law. After retiring from Gallup McKinley County, Earla relocated to Albuquerque. It was there she met her soul mate for life, Charles Clendenin. Charles and Earla met at church, and their lives from then on were blessed enjoying time with one another, traveling, attending church together, and spending time with relatives and friends. Born in St. Louis in 1926, Charles served his country in the United States Air Force, flying 21 bombing missions over Germany as a tail gunner on the iconic B-17 Flying Fortress. Charles once remarked to me over the phone while I was teaching in Bonn, Germany that, "I spent a lot of time over Germany, and not once did I actually step foot there." Those who knew Earla and Charles will forever remember the good times they shared with each other for over twenty two years. During her life Earla touched hundreds of students in positive ways. Her influence was attested to by former students who left notes describing her as a dedicated, caring teacher, who demanded much, but who consistently showed understanding and love to those around her. She loved animals, so much that she persuaded the teaching staff at Roosevelt Elementary in Gallup to let me bring my beagle, Fang, to school with me when I was in fifth grade. To this day, that dog is the only one I know to have his own desk, and water dish in the classroom. He also received a better grade in Algebra than I did, as I recall. Earla truly was an emblematic member of The Greatest Generation. Born immediately prior to the Great Depression in northeastern Oklahoma, the widow of two World War II veterans, and the wife of a third, Earla's contribution to her country and to public education will be forever remembered by those she was close to, and those who she worked with in the classroom. Earla was laid to rest on December 10, 2010, in the Santa Fe National Cemetery. Her headstone also bears remembrance and recognition of her first husband, Kathryn's father who she never met, George Leslie Vicente. Today Earla is at peace and playing with her beloved Gorky Terrier, "B.G.," waiting to be joined by family and friends in heaven. She is survived by her husband, Charles Clendenin, of Albuquerque; daughter, Kathryn Ann Hill and husband Kenneth, of Albuquerque; her son John David, of Olympia, Washington; grandchildren, Joshua Daniel Hill of Albuquerque, and Jody Dawn Hocking of Riverside, California; and her great-grandson, Jackson Burke, also of Riverside. French Funerals 10500 Lomas Blvd, NE 505-275-3500
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