He was raised and attended schools at Ringwood, Oklahoma. He attended Oklahoma State University, earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in education in 1950. He taught in the Federal Indian Service for 17 years, then at Blackburn, Oklahoma, retiring there in 1964.
Earl was a veteran of World War II, serving with the U.S. Army in the European Theater.
After the death of his first wife, the former Mabel Hesser, he was married to Ethel Talkington in 1963.
He was a member of the First Christian Church in Stillwater, where he served as an elder and taught a Bible school class. He was also a Mason.
He died in the Stillwater Municipal Hospital on Friday, October 27, 1978, and was buried in the Glencoe IOOF Cemetery under the direction of Reavis Funeral Home.
He was also survived by his son, Dr. Charles W. Friend of Charlette, North Carolina.
E-Mail N. Dale Talkington at: daletalkington@hotmail.comt