Cowlitz-Lewis County WA Archives Obituaries.....Wood, Opal Leota May 6, 2006 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wa/wafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: P. J. Stepp steppmom5@hotmail.com June 10, 2006, 3:20 pm Published in The Daily News on 5/10/2006. www.tdn.com/obits Opal Leota Wood was born of the two proud parents, Edwin and Katie Ferguson on February 8, 1913 and died peacefully in her sleep on May 6, 2006. She lived a long fulfilled 93 years. She began her life in Oakville, Washington. She was one of ten children and stayed on the family farm until she reached her teen years where she then moved to Centralia to complete high school. In high school she aspired to work on the Journalism staff and made the requisite "13" grade in English class to achieve her goal. She graduated from Centralia High School then lived in Eugene, Oregon briefly before moving to Medford, Oregon. She met and married her husband "Denny" in Medford. She and her new husband married secretly, though they met for nightly trysts at his house until they confessed their deed to their parents. After WWII and two daughters, they moved to Kelso, Washington in 1947, abode there for a year and then moved to Freeport Village in Longview. She and her husband moved again and finished raising their three daughters at 24th and Baltimore in Longview. She reigned supreme as a waitress and worked many years at the Golden Gate Restaurant. Her favorite pastimes included gardening and reading. She spent pleasurable hours in the garden weeding and tending to her flowers. Her expertise lay in dahlias which grew healthy and thrived under her care. She shared dahlias with anyone who asked. Her arch enemy was the lowly slugs which expired quickly when she came home from work at midnight and salted them. She was also a prolific and avid reader and wiled away many an hour reading westerns, Louis L'Amour being her favorite author. As a native American Legion Auxiliary, she donated over 1100 hours in field service and over 3000 hours visiting home veterans with the Vancouver Veteran Hospital as her mainstay. Opal also enjoyed and devoted many hours serving coffee at the Toutle River Rest Area on I-5 for the American Legion, Kelso Eagles, and Longview Moose. Many hours were spent at the Longview Senior Citizen Center playing pinochle and listening to music. Even in her nineties, she would have been an engaging contestant on "Jeopardy", her favorite TV program. She was preceded in death by her husband, "Denny" of 36 years in 1972. She leaves behind three daughters, Jeanine Langlow with husband Hughy, Tanya Boehm, and Marsha Morrow with her husband "Ozzy". Her descendants also include nine grandchildren; Norm, Jerry, Allen (Corky), Rhonda, Andrew, Dennis, Leo, Mary and Rachel. She also left behind nine great grandchildren. Her deceased siblings are: Ernst, Dora, Mabel, Hazel, Chet and Harmon. Her special friend, Ken Smith, also preceded her in death. She is survived by siblings; Ella, Dick and Bob and a special friend Curley Musgrove. A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 at 10:30 a.m. at Columbia Funeral Chapel with Reverend Kevin White officiating. Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to the Longview Senior Center or to the St. Rose School Scholarship Fund. Columbia Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wa/cowlitz/obits/w/wood436gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wafiles/ File size: 3.7 Kb