Zella was born Feb. 1, 1943, in Fort Towson, Okla., to Ruby Anderson Goodwin and Delmer Goodwin. For the first five years of Zella's life, her world was made up of her mother; older sister Gerri; grandparents Ma and Pa Anderson; and uncles Lester and Preston Anderson.
In 1948, Ruby married O'Neal Fair Teague. She and her girls moved with O'Neal to Stillwater, Okla., where O'Neal was attending Oklahoma State University. They soon added to the family with the birth of Bobby Neal and Lynnda LaVaughan. There were several more moves during Zella's school years before the family settled in Stigler, Okla.
Zella was always an excellent student and was an active participant in many school activities.
In Stigler, Zella met Gary Jay Cantrell. Gary was the love of her life. When Gary graduated in 1960 and was going to move to Oklahoma City to continue his education, they decided they could not bear to be separated. They talked Ruby and O'Neal into letting them get married with the understanding that Zella would finish school in Oklahoma City. Gary and Zella were married Aug. 20, 1960, when Gary was 18 and Zella was 17. After finishing school, they moved to Michigan where they worked in the clothing manufacturing business.
On Oct. 3, 1965, their daughter, Caren Reneé, was born.
Gary and Zella always wanted to run their own business. In 1968, Gary's sister told them that the Headquarters Variety Store was for sale. Zella made the trip from Michigan to look things over and make an offer. They purchased the store and moved to Headquarters in 1969.
Zella and Gary ran the Variety Store and saw shop, and eventually Zella also ran the Potlatch cookhouse until the cookhouse shut down. Zella was well-known for the "Zella burgers" and ice cream cones. The Variety Store customers still talk about the hamburgers and ice cream.
In September 1986, Gary and Zella purchased Hunt Oil Company from Gary's sister and brother-in-law. Hunt Oil's main office was at Cardiff Spur's convenience store. In October 2000, they purchased Atkinson Distributing Inc. In 2001, they merged Hunt Oil and Atkinson Distributing together. Zella was very active in the operations of Atkinson Distributing until health issues forced her to retire in 2014. Zella still had a voice in the operations of Atkinson until the time of her death. Zella always enjoyed interacting with her employees and customers. Zella always worked side by side with Gary and the employees of their businesses. She didn't mind getting dirty or getting a little dirt under her fingernails.
Zella is survived by her husband, Gary; daughter Caren Reneé (Jeff) Adams; grandsons Jeromy and Jason Adams; her mother, Ruby Teague; sisters Geri (Gerald) Ohlson and Lynnda (Jimmy) Sooter; and brother Bobbie (Faye) Teague.
Zella was preceded in death by her father, O'Neal Teague.
There will be a celebration of life at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Best Western Lodge at Rivers Edge, 615 Main St., Orofino.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the charity of one's choice. [1]
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