Opal Virginia McBeth's Obituary
Services for Opal Rainey Mc Beth, 102, of Longview will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, February 9, 2009, at Winterfield United Methodist Church, 2616 Tryon Rd., Longview, the Rev. Rita Sims officiating. Burial will be in Union Chapel Cemetery, Douglasville, TX at 2:00 p.m. Mrs. Mc Beth died Friday. February 6, 2009, at Good Shepherd Medical Center.
Mrs. Mc Beth was born, April 24, 1906 in the Cusseta Community, Cass County, TX to Dewey Henry Rainey, Sr. and Caroline Channell Rainey. She was the oldest of their six children. She attended school in Cass County and then attended North Texas State Teacher's College in Denton. In the 1920's, Mrs. Mc Beth taught school in Lone Oak, Mt Sterling and Liberty Hill in Northeast Texas. She married Emil Mc Beth on Dec. 27, 1927. He preceeded her in death in April, 1945.
She moved to Longview in 1956 to attend BMI and worked as a bookkeeper for Longview Lumber Company until her retirement.
A lifelong member of the Methodist Church, Mrs. Mc Beth was the oldest living member of Winterfield United Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday School for many years. Until age 95, Mrs. Mc Beth quilted twice a week with other ladies from the church. The money they earned from this project went back into the church for church needs. These were some of the happiest years of her life.
Opal was a true Matriarch. She loved her family dearly. and invested herself by teaching, listening and encouraging the children around her. She is remembered as being creative, industrious and generous; with a wonderful sense of humor and strong determination. She handmade a quilt for each member of her family including grandchildren, nieces, nephews, great-grandchildren and great-nieces and great-nephews. Each of these masterpieces is a treasured reminder of a special lady who touched their lives with love and humor. Just as with her quilts, she pieced together a warm and useful life reflecting the beauty of the Creator.
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Mc Beth was preceeded death by her parents, Her brothers and sister-in-law, D. H. Rainey, Jr. and Meltry Rainey, James R. Rainey, sisters and brothers-in-law, Anna and Lowry Brabham, Carrie V. and F. C. Dodd, Marguerite and Randall Smith.
She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Virginia and Roscoe Northcutt, Her grandsons and their wives, Mike and Carolyn Northcutt and John and Donya Northcutt, all of Longview. Her great- grandchildren, Bump and Amy Northcutt of Houston and Journi and Dalton Northcutt of Longview. Her great-great-grandson, John Robert Northcutt of Houston. Her sister-in-law, Audrey Rainey of Longview. Her nieces and nephews, Beverly Rainey, Jackie Self, Steve Rainey, & Becky Butler of Longview, Celeste Parker of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Byron Dodd of Portland, Linda Seipp of Dawsonville, Georgia, Charles Brabham of Hughes Springs, J. R. Smith of Burleson and Melissa Wray of Plano.
The family requests that memorials be made to Winterfield United Methodist Church or a charity of your choice.
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