Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Opicka, Anna Jean Ethel (Britton) July 20, 2016
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Pat Currigan currigan1932@comcast.net June 25, 2020, 11:10 am

Ionia Sentinel Standard-Fri.  Aug. 12, 2016

ANNA JEAN ETHEL (BRITTON) OPICKA 1936-2016
Anna Jean Ethel (Britton) Opicka- Born 7/10/1936-Went to sleep to wait for Jesus 
on 7/20/2016 in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Anna Jean was born to Ward and Lula (Fancher) Britton and loved sharing life 
with her sister Jane (Britton) Billips. She lived and used every bit of life up 
while she was married to the love of her life, Darrel Opicka.

Saying good-bye for now to mom and grandma Anna Jean is not easy. She was mom 
and best friend to her daughters, Joyce (John) Gaitan of Holland, Michigan; 
Christine (David) Wold of Holland, MI; Dawn (Ron) Stier of Leicester, North 
Carolina and Tricia (David) Muth of Berrien Spring, MI; 10 grandchildren; and 
two great-granddaughters.

During their growing up years, mom could usually be found on her girls' beds 
listening, not judging, and gently giving the best advice and ultimately showing 
us how to be like Jesus.

Not just her daughters benefitted from her being an amazing mom. Any children 
within a close radius of the Opicka home, not to mention the many girl the 
Opicka's took in as well as the girls her daughters brought home from Academy 
learned to call Anna Jean mom because she took an interest in them and welcomed 
them with open arms.

Anna Jean spent her time serving others. Whether it was as her beloved Darrel's 
office nurse, or VBS Leader for numerous years at the Ionia SDA Church, or 
playing the organ for church services for at least 40 years, or driving kids for 
car field trips, you could count on her having and causing contagious fun to all 
that were around her.

The Opicka house was always a fun house for all who entered. Anna Jean could be 
counted on to play fun pranks or to be hiding somewhere just for the sheer joy 
of jumping out and scaring unsuspecting daughters, guests or husbands. Summers 
were spent with canning and freezing lots of fruits and vegetables she had 
gotten her girl and friends to get up and pick. It would have been a lot of 
work, but she made it so fun no one knew they had done work.

To describe Anna Jean in just a few words is nearly impossible. She was a 
phenomenal wife, mom, friend, and grandma to everyone and anyone who knew her. 
Jesus lived and poured out of her. It reminds us of the old hymn "The Love of 
God" that she used to sing. "Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the 
skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a will, and every man a 
scribe by trade; To write the love of mom, would drain the ocean dry; Nor could 
the scroll contain the whole, through stretched from sky to sky."

That was mom, a reflection of God, love, Mercy, Justice, Judgement, Love! Mom!

It is nearly impossible to say good-bye, however, we know we will see her again 
soon and so we would like to celebrate mom's life and would love to have you 
join us-Saturday, Aug. 13 at 2 p.m. at Lehman funeral Home, 220 Rich St. Ionia, 
MI. Online condolences may be made at www.lehmanfuneralhomes.com


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