Opal Patty

Opal M. Patty, 99, a resident of Bettendorf, died Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at Iowa Masonic Heath Facilities in Bettendorf.

Per her request, there will be no services or visitation.  Burial will be in East Linn Cemetery in Redfield, Iowa.  Memorials may be made to Genesis Hospice.

Opal was born November 19, 1911 in Tina, Missouri, the daughter of Eleazer A. & Bertha (Perreten) Hockett.  Her 1929 high school graduating class consisted of nine students.

After high school Opal enrolled in a correspondence course with the American Institute of Business in Des Moines and was employed with Bankers Life Insurance Company where she earned sixty dollars a month.

Upon moving to Omaha, Nebraska, she worked with the General Insurance Company and was a nurse’s aide on evenings and weekends during the first few years of World War II.

Opal was united in marriage to Carroll W. Patty in Golden, Colorado on October 13, 1945. They settled in Fairbury, Nebraska where their three children were born. In 1952 they moved to Des Moines, Iowa where Opal devoted her life to her family. After the children left home Carroll and Opal spent their time traveling, camping and fishing. Opal moved to Bettendorf in 1988 to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren. She made friends easily at the Masonic Village where she lived by herself until the fall of 2009. Opal did volunteer work at the Children’s Museum in Bettendorf and at the Iowa Masonic Health Facilities.

She was a member of Asbury United Methodist Church in Bettendorf and a former member of Cottage Grove Presbyterian Church in Des Moines.  She was also a former member of the Victory Circle of Kings Daughters in Des Moines.

Family and church were very important to Opal and her loving, caring nature as well as her sense of humor will be missed.

She was preceded in death by her 2 ½ year old daughter Carolyn Sue, her husband Carroll and her brother Harold.

Those left to honor her memory include her daughter and son-in-law, JoAnn & Bob Macomber of Blue Grass, Iowa; her son and daughter-in-law, Donald & Tracy Patty of Raleigh, North Carolina; her grandchildren, Sarah Rolland, Paul Macomber, Leslie Patty and Brian Patty; her great-grandchildren, Grace & Zachary;  her sister-in-law, Rosaline Hockett and her nieces, Pam and Priscilla.

The family would like to thank the nurses and CNAs of the Iowa Masonic Health Facilities for all their care and compassion during Opal’s stay.  Also, the family thanks Chaplain Bruce McNeely for guiding Opal through the final part of her journey.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family by visiting Opal’s obituary at www.McGinnis-Chambers.com.