Opal Bernice Harvey

Opal Bernice Harvey, longtime resident of Corning, Iowa, was born to John Sherman and Emily Jane (Pont) Blakely on Monday, November 19, 1913 in Griswold, Iowa. Opal died on Friday, April 30, 2010 at the Villisca Good Samaritan Center in Villisca, Iowa at the age of ninety-six years.
As a child, Opal enjoyed performing in many school plays. She also loved to play basketball and was very proud that her team went to State Finals. Opal was a graduate with the Class of 1932 from Lewis High School attending many class reunions over the years through 2008. After graduation, Opal became a teacher and taught in rural schools in both the Pottawatamie and Griswold school districts, later becoming a substitute teacher in Prescott.
Opal married Clarence Harvey on September 30, 1934 in Princeton, Missouri. Their union was blessed by nine children. The couple lived and worked in Iowa. Mrs. Harvey was also a worker at church activities.
Opal loved to plant beautiful flowers and watch them grow. Some of her hobbies were sewing and craft work, fishing and gardening.
Opal traveled a lot in her later years which included trips to Ireland and Rome, where she had went to the Vatican and had an audience with the Pope. There were very few states in America she hadn’t been to.
Left to cherish Opal’s memory are her children: Frances (Ken) Van Laeke of Salem, South Carolina, Betty (Larry) Damewood of Gravity, Richard (Janice) Harvey of Prescott, Clara McKee of Emerson, Ruby (Carl) Drottz of Lorimor, Darrell (Mary) Harvey of Corning, Cathy (Jim) Eggleston of Prescott; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and twin brother, Otis Blakely of Griswold.
Opal was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Clarence Harvey in 1974; son, David Harvey in 1992; son-in-law, Dick McKee in 1997; daughter, Carolyn Holessen in 2003; two brothers and two sisters.
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