Opal Lula Combs Branscomb Hall

June 10, 1920 - August 24, 2001

Arlene, Opal & Bea ca.1922.

This looks like a picture from a fashion magazine of today.

Lionel & Mom

Bea & Opal

Ab, Lionel, Opal & Billy

June 10, 2000 at her 80th Birthday party

Click HERE to see Opal's 80th Birthday photos

My Aunt Opal

August 27, 2001

By Sandra Combs Boyette

Forty-five years ago this week, something called the "Asian flu" was making a lot of people around here sick, including my mother. She had gotten me all prepared for my first day of first grade but was too sick to go with me. The person who got that duty was our next-door neighbor, Aunt Opal.

She and I walked from right down the road, this way, to Oak Summit School, right up the road that way. When we got there, Aunt Opal launched into a conversation with Mary Worth Ferguson, my teacher, whom she knew from this church; and she called Mrs. Ferguson by her first name. It made me feel pretty important, that my aunt was on a first-name basis with my teacher. Aunt Opal stayed until all the parents had to leave, but not before she had given me a little shot of confidence that I had an inside track with Mrs. Ferguson.

Two years before that, it was Aunt Opal who carried Benny into our house for the first time when he was brought home from the hospital. I was extremely disappointed that he did not jump out of the bassinette and go to the swing set with me. Aunt Opal explained to me that it would probably be awhile before he did that, but that I could run over to her house and get a Coke. Because we lived beside her until I was almost seven, running in and out of her house was like running in and out of ours; and the Coke was just the thing to help me get over the fact that Benny would not get up.

Over the years, the things I admired about Aunt Opal never changed.

What all of us probably remember most vividly is how much she cared about how she looked, and I mean that in a complimentary way. If it were up to her, "casual Friday" and "dress-down church" would never have entered our society. She understood that how you look says something about self-respect and regard for others; and she looked good, all her life.

Not long ago, we were talking about a "famous" Combs family photograph, with our grandparents and all their children, and Ronnie, who wandered into the edge of the picture. I think it was Mona who asked about the dress Aunt Opal was wearing. Even though the picture was made in the mid 1950s, I could describe it to her in detail because I remember it so well. It was lovely, and Aunt Opal wore it wonderfully.

Just a couple of months ago, when she was visiting my mom for a few days, I went straight from work one afternoon to take them to supper. Aunt Opal complimented me on my shoes, and I thanked her for it. Then she said, "And no hose." In just that tone of voice. She could let you know what she thought was appropriate or not, and maybe that's one of the reasons I'm wearing hose today.

But there was much more than how she looked. She had fun, and she enjoyed life, even though she didn't always have an easy life. She worked hard for a lot of years, and if she ever complained, I never heard it.

She was a good dancer, and she taught me to shag, although I think she preferred flatfooting. She was a wonderful cook. The first time I ever tasted fried okra was at her table. I still fix it all summer but it never tastes like hers did.

She loved her family&emdash;all of us. There was rarely a conversation with her that didn't include what Lionel and Mona were doing, or news from Laura, Lee or Patience or a great-grandchild. Not many people have the opportunity to know their great-grandchildren. She not only knew hers, but she enjoyed them immensely.

We love her, and we will miss her. But just as with all her sisters and brothers who have gone ahead, we know we were blessed to have them among us for so long; and we know that we will see her again.

Sandra Combs Boyette

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 Please e-mail me at: rcarty@comcast.net