Laura Elizabeth (Theobald) Delk was born April 29, 1902, to Phoebe (Lauer) and John Nicholas Theobald in Marietta, Washington County, Ohio. When Laura was two years old, her mother became very ill with what was then known as consumption. The family doctor insisted that Phoebe move to a drier climate, so the family boarded a train to Prescott, Yavapai County, Arizona Territory. There Phoebe made a miraculous recovery.
Laura attended Washington School and Prescott High School where she was very active, playing running center on the girls’ basketball team for four years. She was also a member of the 1920 Athletic Board and the Hassayamper staff, prior to graduating in 1920.
On September 27, 1925, she married Ernest Delk in Prescott. Ernest was the hardware manager for the Bashford and Burmister Store. The couple had one child, a daughter named Phoebe Ann (Delk) Cadwallader, born June 7, 1934, in Prescott.
Laura, a member of the First Baptist Church, was the church’s secretary for many years. She also worked for Grace Chapman as a recorder in the Yavapai County Recorder's Office.
When the Bashford and Burmister Store closed its doors in 1941, Ernest was unable to find other employment in Prescott, and much to Laura’s regret, the couple moved to California. Ernest died at age fifty-nine on June 7, 1953, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernardino, California.
Laura retired from the San Bernardino County Tax Collector’s Office in November 1968. She had begun working there in 1951 and had advanced to the position of supervisor of the Redemption Department.
Laura’s daughter Phoebe Ann wrote that her mother was a wonderful mother, wife, friend and coworker. She was always very active in service to others and to her church. She participated in many civic groups and activities.
Laura died on March 15, 1976, in Everett, Snohomish County, Washington. Her funeral was held in Del Rosa Heights Baptist Church in San Bernardino. She was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernardino, California.
Donor: Phoebe Ann (Delk) Cadwallader, December 2003
Photo Located: DB 492, F-10, I-20 - Theobald Family Collection
Updated: 11/3/2015, D. Sue Kissel
