Opal Lela Boren ¹

   Cause of her death was Colon cancer.

  General Notes:

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 7, Ed. 1, Tree #0736]
Opal graduated from the International Business College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. When Phyllis went to college Opal started to work outside the home for the first time. While Phyllis was at home, she was always there. Lunch at 11:30 and supper at 5:30. She made most of Phyllis and her clothes She was always concerned about her personal appearance (even her Mother-in-law commented on it!) all her life. She preferred a necklace, bracelet, and earrings that matched. Every hair was in place. Shoes and bag went together. People always commented what a pretty lady she was. She never looked her age.

The Wyatt family was from Mercer, Pennsylvania, Richland County, Ohio. About 1837 they moved to Jackson Township, DeKalb County, Indiana. In 1840 John Wyatt, his wife, Eva Kitchen Wyatt and about 40 others formed and became charter members of Bear Creek Class (later Rehobeth) one of the first MP Churches formed in Indiana. Lulu Jane Boren = William D. Wyatt. This is the church Opal attended as a child.
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Source:
Ancestry.com/RootsWeb.com: http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=altamarinegibson&id=I03954
"Gibson/Schroeder Roots"
Merrill Schroeder

Buried in her parents plot; Woodlawn Cemetery, Auburn, DeKalb County, Indiana

Opal was a tow head as a young girl. As she grew older, her hair became the color of a gold watch. When she died she was still a blond with few gray hairs. She always loved music and "played at" the piano. Her eldest sister, Flossie, was an accomplished seamstress and taught Opal the basics. Since money was very scarce when she and Harold were first married, she made all her clothes as well as those for Phyllis. During the depression she often put her talent to use to alter clothes for others. When Phyllis went to college she made some special outfits. One was a wool plaid suit with a pleated skirt. Another was a gray pinstriped suit with a matching 3/4 length coat. Phyllis made a hat to match. For her Junior prom she made Phyllis a burgundy chiffon velvet gown. Some of her creations were designed after taking men's three piece suits apart, discarding the worn fabric, and using what was left. It was splurging to buy any garment in the department store.

Although Opal did not complete High School, she graduated from business college in Fort Wayne and years later worked for a CPA in Wooster, Ohio, was business director for an optometrist, and after she and Harold purchased the Laurel Heating Company, she was the office manager/bookkeeper for them until the business was sold.

Travel was always a thrill for her. Before their marriage she often camped with the McGrew family on extended trips, living in a tent and cooking over an open fire. When she and Harold bought an Airstream trailer it was hard to keep them at home.

After Harold's death in 1989, Opal had to make many adjustments. Not only was her life's companion missing, she knew she must sell their home and then discovered she had colon cancer which required radical surgery. She spent several weeks in the nursing home and recovery center before moving into her new condo on the sixth floor of Lake Seminole Square. She hated elevators and now had to use one everywhere she went. She never did like living there but made the adjustment and accepted new friends and situations. After another relapse, another stay in the nursing home, the family decided she would be best cared for in the ACLF wing of Lake Seminole Square. Her favorite "things" were moved into one room there but she never was able to spend much time in it before she died in 1993 just a week before her 91st birthday.

Everyone knew and will remember Opal for her friendly smile, her helpful attitude, and her impeccable neatness and good taste in clothes.
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  Burial Notes:

No explanation is available to explain why she wasn't buried until October even though she died in April. I suspect that the burial date of 21 Oct 1993 is in error as I can find no source which provides a specific citation for that date. I also suspect that it may be another case of where erroneous information on the Internet is copied over and over again. Perhaps the correct burial date should be 21 Apr 1993 instead of 21 Oct 1993. That would provide about 16 days for the body to be shipped from Florida to Indiana for internment. [Brian L. Lightfoot]
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  Noted events in her life were:

• She worked as an Accountant.

• Personality/Intrst: Music, sewing, family.

• She was buried after 5 April 1993 in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Auburn, IN.

Plot: Section 5
Find A Grave Memorial #144856417
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Opal married Harold Afton McGrew, son of George Afton McGrew and Zora Spangle, on 4 September 1925 in New Cumberland, WV. (Harold Afton McGrew was born on 4 December 1902 in , Steuben County, IN,^{2 3 4} died on 7 January 1989 in , Pinellas County, FL ^{3 4} and was buried after 7 January 1989 in Auburn, IN ⁴.). The cause of his death was Acute cerebral hemorrhage.

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Elopement: Eloped, on 4 September 1925.