Obituaries

Opal Mae Pinnell Johnson 94 passed away on Tuesday September 25 2012 at The Willows in Sherman Texas. She had been a resident of the Memory Care unit at The Willows since 2007. She had been under hospice care by Home Hospice of Grayson County since September 2012. She moved to Sherman Texas to be closer to her family after being a long time resident of Dumas. Opal was born on August 27 1918 to Gregory Pinnell and Maggie Mae (Thompson) Pinnell on the family farm in Pampa Texas. She was the youngest and only daughter of the family. She was preceded in death by her parents her husband James O. Johnson Jr. and brothers, Earl D. Pinnel Owen Byron Pinnell Elmo Kenneth Pinnell and Roscoe Lee Pinnell. She grew up on the family farm and loved riding her horse "Old Snip." She attended school at Grandview Hopkins and Pampa. She attended West Texas State College in Canyon Texas for three years and worked as a PBX operator at the Cactus Ordnance Works in Cactus TX. After her daughter was in school Opal worked at Omega"¢s Toggery a children"¢s clothing store. Later she worked eight years as a writer for the Moore County News Press. She enjoyed doing articles on the Cook of the Week for the newspaper and kept notebooks with all the articles and recipes. She took real estate classes at Amarillo College got her real estate license and then Broker"¢s license. She then sold real estate for Golden Spread Realty of Dumas. She loved to cook and collect recipes. She was an excellent seamstress who loved to make her own clothing as well as make drapes and other things for her home. She loved decorating for the holidays and would make her own floral arrangements. Opal loved to shop and would say that she wanted to "poke and feel." She liked doing crewel embroidery and needlepoint. A lot of her time was spent outdoors by her tending to her garden and many flowers and trees. She would do canning and even tried decorative oil painting which she displayed in her home. She loved music as well as traveling. She and James spent many years camping by tent and later by travel trailer with trips to Colorado New Mexico Wyoming and other states. They made trips to Europe traveling to twelve countries as well as Mexico on numerous occasions. While still in her seventies she attended weekly dances at the Amarillo Senior Citizens Center. She kept the family farm at Pampa and was interested in wind energy. She had a lifelong interest in farming. She and James joined the First Presbyterian Church of Dumas on April 5 1950. She maintained her membership there and attended regularly until her move to Sherman in 2005. While she lived in Dumas she worked with the Girl Scouts served on the Board of Senior Citizens of Moore County and was a member of the Home Demonstration Club Business and Professional Women of Dumas The Moore County Senior Citizens Center The VFW Women"¢s Auxiliary and a charter member of The Dumas Women""¢s Chamber of Commerce. After forty-seven years of marriage Opal lost her husband James in June of 1986. In 1990 she married Sydney w. Perry. He passed away in 2001. She is survived by her daughter Janan Green and husband Marion of Pottsboro TX grandson Ty Mryrick and wife Lora their family Jacob and Anna-Marie of Buda TX grandson and family, Cort Myrick and wife Sabrina Sadora and Avryn of San Angelo TX, granddaughter Stacy Lewis of Schertz TX. She had fifteen great-grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Graveside services will be conducted by the Reverend David Hawkins of First Presbyterian Church of Plainview TX. Services will be at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday September 29 2012 at Llano Cemetery in Amarillo TX under the direction of Dannel Funeral Home in Sherman Texas. Memorials may be made to a favorite charity or Home Hospice of Grayson county 505 W. Center St. Sherman TX 75090 or First Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 1118 Dumas TX 79020. The family would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at The Willows and Home Hospice for their outpouring of love and nurturing care. Opal will be remembered for her indomitable spirit. You may sign the online guestbook @www.dannelfuneralhome.com