Lee Whittle Tharpe

ECHO COMMUNITY…Mr. Lee Whittle Tharpe (Chief Master Sergeant, United States Air Force, Retired) a resident of the Echo Community, died Monday morning, June 24, 2024, at his home. He was 86.

 Graveside services will be held at 3:00 P.M. Thursday, June 27, 2024, in the Ewell Cemetery with Reverend Phil Craddock officiating. The family will receive friends following the graveside services. Fuqua Bankston Funeral Home of Ozark is in charge of arrangements.

 In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Echo EMS, PO Box 372, Ozark, Alabama 36361 or to Gentiva Hospice, 2431 West Main Street, Suite 1102, Dothan, Alabama 36301.

 Mr. Tharpe, son of the late Leroy Tharpe and Gladys Whittle Tharpe, was a native of Echo. He attended Echo School until the 9th grade and graduated from Dale County High School in Ozark in 1956. He enlisted in the United States Air Force and retired as a Chief Master Sergeant and was a Vietnam War Veteran. Mr. Tharpe lived in various locations in the United States and overseas before returning to Echo in 1980. He later retired from Sikorsky at Fort Rucker (now Fort Novosel) as an armament supervisor. Mr. Tharpe was of the Baptist faith. He was preceded in death by a brother, James Lomax Tharpe, sister-in-law, Nell Bell Tharpe, and a brother-in-law, Olen Grantham and his wife, Ruth.

 Surviving relatives include his wife of sixty-five years, Faye Grantham Tharpe, Echo; three sons, Keith Tharpe (Bonnie), Wicksburg, Kyle Tharpe (Jennifer A.), and Kirby Tharpe (Jennifer L.), all of Echo; brother, Gerald Tharpe, Ozark; sister-in-law, Enzell Tharpe, Ozark; five grandchildren, Stacy Tharpe, Leah Shirley (Dustin), Mason Tharpe (Jamie), Jordan Howell (Corbin), and Whitt Tharpe; three great-grandchildren, Max Tharpe, Laila Kate Shirley, and Kaia Shirley; nieces, nephews, and cousins.

 The family would like to thank the nurses and staff, especially Dan Golden, of Gentiva Hospice for their loving care and kindness shown to Mr. Tharpe and his family during his illness.