Carol Sue Horton LaRue, daughter of the late Chester Charles (Sonny) Horton and Dora Elizabeth (Babe) Jones, was born on January 3, 1943 in St. Louis and departed this life on May 20, 2021 at Sikeston Convalescent Center in Sikeston, Missouri, at the age of 78 years.
Mrs. LaRue was a 1961 graduate of Dexter High School and was active in drama and athletics. She was an Honors Student at the University of Missouri, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1965. She taught in Sikeston and high school English and college prep classes in California, MO, with several students becoming successful attorneys and businesspeople.
She is survived by her husband, Charles Wayne LaRue of Dexter; her three sons, Brian Eric LaRue and his wife Lisa M. LaRue of Prosperity, SC, Mark Andrew LaRue and his wife Masja LaRue of Troy, IL, and John David LaRue and his wife Katina Marie Nordloh of Derwood, MD; by one brother, Boyce Alan Wooley and his wife Kay Wooley of Dexter; step-sister Pam Sparks and her husband Rick Sparks; step-brother Butch Kaufman; and four grandchildren, Kathryn Taylor LaRue, Rachel Elizabeth LaRue and her husband Zack Flathmann, Jacob Horton LaRue, and Jason Daniel LaRue; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Glen Edwin Wooley.
Mrs. LaRue was a proud wife and mother, and was very involved in the education of her children and supportive of their extracurricular activities. She was a lifelong Mizzou and St. Louis Cardinals fan and enjoyed traveling around the United States and to Europe. This included camping trips, beach vacations, and ancestry research excursions. An avid quilter, cook, and gardener, she took great pride in her recipe collection, rabbit collection, herb garden, and attracting butterflies and hummingbirds.
Visitation will be held at Mathis Funeral Home in Bernie on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
Funeral services will then be conducted in the Mathis Funeral Chapel at 12:00 p.m. with Rev. Ivan Mekan officiating. Interment will follow in the Bernie Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Stoddard County Children’s Home, PO Box 164, Dexter, Missouri, 63841 or the Sikeston Convalescent Center, 103 Kennedy Drive, Sikeston, Missouri 63801.
Mathis Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.
