Obituary

Services for Opal Bourland, 100, formerly of Cotton Center, will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12, 2015, in Cotton Center First Baptist Church with the Rev. J. D. Templeton, pastor, officiating. Burial will follow in Center Plains Cemetery under the direction of Abell Funeral Home & Flower Shop of Hale Center. She died Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, about four hours short of her 101st birthday. Mrs. Bourland was born Jan. 8, 1914, in Coryell County, Texas. She came from a family of 10 children, five girls and five boys. She attended school in County Line, Texas, and married Clarence Bourland on Nov. 19, 1930, in Clovis, New Mexico. She and her family moved from Ropesville to Cotton Center in 1943. He husband Clarence was drafted into the Army during WWII. While he was overseas, she became the postmaster at Cotton Center, holding that position for approximately 30 years. She loved that job and enjoyed seeing many people on a daily basis. She loved Cotton Center with all her heart and was very disappointed when she had to move into assisted living. She attended First Baptist Church from the time she moved to Cotton Center, and the church was an important part of her life. She was preceded in death by her husband Clarence on Jan. 24, 1991, as well as her five brothers and four sisters. She is survived by three sons, Kenneth and Elmer, both of Bellflower, Calif., and Ron of Blanco, Texas; two daughters, Yvonne Towns and Deborah Brawner, both of Chandler, Ind.; seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.