Lee Paul Tharp

November 26, 1922 - October 29, 2003

Lee Paul Tharp, age 80, passed away October 29, 2003 at Purcell Municipal Hospital, Purcell, Oklahoma. Lee was born November 26, 1922 to Jessy and Nova (Hand) Tharp of Lindsay, Oklahoma. Mr. Tharp served in the United States Air Corps during World War II. Lee married Wanda Jean Deaton on October 11, 1945 in Lindsay, Oklahoma. Lee retired from Carls, Inc. in 1975. Mr. Tharp is survived by four children, Robert Dewayne Tharp, Teresa Yandell, Randy Tharp and Tammy Sharrock; 1 sister, Pauline George; 6 grandchildren,10 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great grandson; 2 nieces and 2 nephews. Lee was preceded in death by his wife, Wanda, on January 27, 1999; 1 daughter, Tracy Layne Tharp and 1 niece, Donna George Lindsey. Sevices for Lee Paul Tharp will be 2:00 p.m., Saturday, November 1, 2003 at the Erin Springs Baptist Church, Erin Springs, Oklahoma with Reverend Bill Love officating. Interment will follow at Green Hill Cemetery, Lindsay, Oklahoma. Casketbearers include Mike Bailey, Bobby New, Gene Selman, Rick Selman, Wayne Yandell, and Freddie Slay. Honorary Casketbearers include Jackie Stacy, Larry Tillery, Royce Morgan, Gary Wafford, and Donald George. Arrangements are with B.G. Boydston Funeral Home in Lindsay. (The following news release first appeared in the Daily Oklahoman in 1944) A flying trip to Europe is what Sgt. Lee P. Tharp of Lindsay had. Not literally, but considering he was there only five months, it was a fast one. It was not bad either. Only the hot "tay" -- you know the national afternoon drink in England --didn't agree with the sergeant, but the English hospitality did. He gave the Englishmen an "A double plus" for hospitality, as he spent many happy hours in various English homes while on brief leaves. As for service, he had that too. In fact, he won the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his meritorious achievements while on aerial missions over France, Germany and of ETO enemy countries. He marked up 31 missions during his five months service as a ball trust gunner on a B-17 based with the Eighth AAF in England. The 21-year-old former Lindsay highschool student and Lindsay grocery store employee participated in the "softening up" of France prior to D-day, and also was winging over France on that red-letter day. "It wasn't bad. In fact none of my flights were bad. I was one of the lucky ones. My plane never suffered more than a few ack-ack dents," he said. Tharp went into service in November, 1942.