Obituary

Opal Hartsell Whitmire, 95, died Sunday, April 1, 2007, in Tulia. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 4, 2007, in First Baptist Church of Kress with the Rev. Bill Fuller officiating, assisted by the Rev. Dan Reynolds. Burial will follow in Parklawn Memorial Gardens in Plainview under the direction of Kornerstone Funeral Directors of Tulia. She was born Aug. 26, 1911, in Chico, Texas, to Flora and H.L. Hartsell. Opal graduated as valedictorian of Chico High School and was a graduate of North Texas State at Denton, Texas. She taught school at Center in Floyd County, Petersburg, Circle Back, Fieldton, Bula and Kress. She taught for 32 years, 20 of them at Kress, Texas. She was presented a plaque from Public Schools of Texas for 32 years of service in 1974. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma. She loved teaching and watching her students learn. She got a great deal of pleasure from watching her students become productive citizens and was proud of their accomplishments. Opal married A.C. (Clif) Whitmire on Aug. 15, 1940, in Sweetwater, Texas. He passed away March 18, 1994. Opal and Clif moved to Kress in 1948. They joined First Baptist Church on March 7, 1948, where Opal was a Sunday school teacher for the Young Married Women, served as church secretary, Bible school teacher, member of WMU, Hostess Committee and librarian for the church. She read the Bible first thing every morning and ended the day with a prayer for loved ones. On Oct. 6, 1958, the boys and girls 4-H clubs in Kress were combined together, forming the Kress Community 4-H Club. Opal was a 4-H leader for the girls, teaching them sewing, cooking, canning and freezing. She was a member of the Kress Keen-Agers Club, serving as secretary. She was chosen as Outstanding Woman of the Year twice. Opal was Swisher County Senior Citizens Spelling Bee Champion and was Texas Panhandle Regional Spelling Bee Champion in 1991. During the competition, several of Opal's ex-students called to encourage her on to winning. Mrs. Whitmire was a member of RSVP of Swisher County where she served on the advisory board. She was nominated Outstanding RSVP Volunteer for 1991-92. She was a member of the Kress Crochet Club. She always needed to keep her hands busy and created beautiful handmade items and enjoyed making beautiful quilts. Opal was a Volunteer Reading Teacher for the Kress Public Schools from 1998-2001. She loved children and spent many hours teaching them to read and inspiring them to enjoy reading. Opal was a volunteer proofreader for the Tulia Sentinel from 1999-2000. She loved people and much of her time was spent visiting friends in area nursing homes and the shut-ins around Kress. She was always carrying food to funerals, friends and meetings. Believing it is important to keep your mind busy and active, much of her time was spent working, reading, crossword puzzles, etc. Opal was awarded the Pioneer Award at the Hi-Neighbor Days celebration in Kress in 2006. Mrs. Whitmire moved to Tulia in 2007 where she attended First Baptist Church of Tulia and Tulia Senior Citizens. She is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Clifteen and Jody White of Tulia; and a son and daughter-in-law, Alan and Ann Whitmire of Wichita Falls, Texas; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Also, a brother, Charles Hartsell of Duncan, Okla.; a sister, Joyce Taylor of San Antonio; a sister-in-law, Anna Mae Hartsell of Ardmore, Okla.; and a brother-in-law, J.L. Whitmire of Tulia. She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Clif; a sister, Amy Fisher; and a brother, Claude Hartsell. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 537, Kress, TX 79052; or to the Kress Senior Citizens.