Rosetta N. Quarles

ROSETTA NICHOLAS QUARLES, affectionately known to family and friends as, “Rose,” “Tad - pole,” “Billy” and “Will” to her late husband Gordon, transitioned from labor to reward in the early morning hours of the 28th day of April 2023. Rose, the third child and second daughter of the late Deacon Henry “Che” and Beulah Nicholas, was born on March 27, 1944, in Warren County, North Carolina. To say she was raised in a devoutly Christian home would be an understatement. At Bethlehem Baptist Church in Norlina, NC, Deacon “Che” was the pastor’s “right hand man,” assisting him with baptisms, christenings, and anything a faithful member of the Diaconate might be called upon to provide. Of course, Rose was baptized at Bethlehem Baptist, as well as her brothers and sister. Rose was educated in the public school system of Norlina, NC. Before she graduated, she left quite an impression upon her classmates, as she was elected Secretary of the Senior Class, Student Council Representative, Most Attractive, Best Personality, and Homecoming Queen. She graduated from North Warren High School in Wise, NC, on Sunday, June 3, 1962, and left for Baltimore, Maryland, to live with her sister, Rachel, and seek employment there, that very same afternoon Rose eventually found employment at Western Electric in Baltimore, MD, as a machine operator. She would retire from there after working faithfully for 20 years. A few months after securing work in February 1963, she met the man who would become her soulmate for the next 56 years, Gordon Daniel Quarles. They married in Baltimore, and to this union, one daughter, Angela, was born. Gordon called Rosetta, “Will,” in order to be able to distinguish between her other cousins who all seemed to somehow share the name, “Billy.” After years of attending various houses of worship, Rosetta and Gordon agreed to make First Christian Community Baptist Church, under the leadership of the late Reverend Ernest Humphrey, their spiritual home. Rose was the President of the Usher Board, led songs as a member of the Senior Choir, taught Sunday School, and remained a faithful member, letting her “light” shine wherever she went until her illness prevented her from serving. Rosetta Nicholas Quarles leaves to cherish her memory: her daughter, Gwendolyn; son, Steven (Glo - ria); daughter, Angela (Demitri); sister-in-law, Jovanda; grandsons, John, Steven, Abdul; granddaughter, Rhonda (Justin); great friends and neighbors, Lorenzo, Alice, Maple, Gloria, Charles, and Queen & Cee Mooring; and a host of great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, family and friends.

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Rosetta N. Quarles

March 27, 1944 - April 28, 2023