Opal Mae Venable Eades

Mrs. Opal Mae Venable Eades, 89, of 1394 Forrest Drive, Mount Airy, passed away Wednesday, July 22, 2009, at the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson. She was born August 14, 1919, in Surry County, to the late James Rufus and Sadie Elizabeth Atkins Venable. Mrs. Eades retired from Spencer's Inc. with over 40 years of service and spent many of those years as a belt captain. She loved Highland Park Baptist Church, where she was a dedicated member for over 60 years. Mrs. Eades was a 1937 graduate of Franklin High School. She was the beloved mother of Ginger Eades Collins of Mount Airy and the beloved grandma of Jonathan David Collins of Raleigh. Also surviving are a brother, James Paul Venable and his wife, Lucy Marshall Venable, of Newport News, VA; a sister, Irene Venable Wilson and her husband, Aldine Wilson, of Newport News, VA; four sisters-in-law, JoAnn Harbour Venable, Dorothy Francis Venable, and Lucille Eades Tate, all of Mount Airy, and Levia Midkiff Eads of Arbor Acres, Winston-Salem; and fifteen nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Eades was preceded in death by her husband, John Glenn Eades; two brothers, Clarence Venable and Bill Venable; a sister-in-law, Myrtle Eades Waugh; and two brothers-in-law, Fred Eads and Gray Eads. The funeral service will be held Sunday, July 26, 2009, at 3:00 PM at Highland Park Baptist Church, with the Rev. Darrell Tate, the Rev. Todd E. Byrd, and Dr. Ray Hamilton officiating. Burial will follow at Oakdale Cemetery. The family will receive friends Saturday from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at Moody Funeral Home in Mount Airy. Flowers will be accepted, or memorials may be made to Highland Park Baptist Church, 1327 Grove Lane, Mount Airy, NC 27030, or to the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home, 945 Zephyr Road, Dobson, NC 27017. Ginger and Jonathan would like to express their heartfelt thanks to a beloved friend, Bob Hershey, of Statesville, Dr. Roger Kerley,of Mount Airy, Dr. Velez of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and the staff of the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home.