Earl Quarles was born on May 24, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to the late George and Selena Quarles, the ninth of sixteen children in the large, close-knit Quarles family. He graduated from Sumner High School in 1954 and worked part-time at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, where Black workers were restricted to stock duties and excluded from union driver positions.
In 1955, Earl met Wanakee Anglyn Henry, who would become his wife in 1959. They had three children: Michael, Kimberly, and Sabrina. Earl served honorably in the U.S. Army before returning to Coca-Cola, where he made history as the first African American driver in Missouri, earning the nickname around town “The Coke Man.” He retired in 1998 after 46 years with the company.
Earl passed away on October 22, 2024, after battling peripheral vascular disease, holding his wife’s hand. A Coca-Cola truck, symbolic of his career, appeared outside the health center shortly after his passing. Earl is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years, Wanakee; daughters Kimberly Mingo (Todd) and Sabrina Coleman (Kelly); his sister Barbara Stith Quarles; and grandchildren Sydni, Kelsi, Madison, Lauryn and Gabriel. He was preceded in death by his son, Michael, and grandson, Michael Jr.