Opal Maureen Holdsworth

Celebration of Life Services:2:00 p.m., Friday, November 28, 2014First United Methodist Church, Denison, Iowa.Interment:Nishnabotna Cemetery, Manilla, Iowa.Visitation:From noon until service time on Friday at First United Methodist Church, Denison, Iowa.   Opal Maureen Holdsworth was born on a farm four miles north of Manilla, Iowa, April 29, 1929, the daughter of Orval and Lillian Blanche Macumber Maloy. She was baptized March 31, 1945, at the First Methodist Church in Manilla, Iowa. Opal was raised on the farm and received her elementary education at the Nishnabotna No. 1 rural school before graduating from Manilla High School with the class of 1947. During her high school years she was employed at Calvins Grocery Store in Manilla and, during her senior year, she worked for Mrs. Thelma Younie after school helping serve supper to teachers for fifty cents a week. Following high school she was employed at Denison Drug and First National Bank. On November 21, 1948, Opal was united in marriage with Merlin Holdsworth at the Methodist Parsonage in Manilla, Iowa. Their union was blessed with seven children: Dennis, Cheryl, Marilyn, Dean, David, Julie and Jeffrey. The family made their home on farms in the Manilla area until they purchased a farm near Denison in 1963, moving to her present home at 1510 South Main in Denison in 1989. During their years on the farm Opal was a busy farmwife and homemaker caring for husband and children. Merlin died August 17, 1998. Although she resided in town, Opal’s heart always remained on the farm where she maintained an active interest in the goings on there and following the markets.   In her leisure time Opal enjoyed visiting her seven children and the grandchildren, attending grandchildren’s activities, embroidery work, canning tomatoes and making tomato preserves, doing yard work and caring for her beautiful flowers, having coffee with friends, listening to and watching the “Gaither Gospel Hour” and “Wind At My Back”. Opal will fondly remembered by her children for her excellent cooking and baking skills with a home baked treat waiting for them when they returned from school each day. If the treat involved apples you could be assured it was made with Opal’s favorite brand of apples which were McIntosh.   She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Denison and past member of the Friendly Farmers Club and SNAP Club. Opal died Sunday, November 23, 2014, at the St. Anthony Nursing Home in Carroll, Iowa, having been blessed with 85 years, 6 months and 24 days. Including her parents, Orval and Lillian Maloy, and husband, Merlin, Opal was also preceded in death by two sisters: Norma Wiese and Laura Derner; sister-in-law: Betty Boyens; and brothers-in-law: Milford Wiese, Roland Derner, Lester Boyens, and Gilbert Mundt. Survivors include seven children: Dennis Holdsworth and wife Deb of Denison, Iowa, Cheryl Miller and husband Fred of Johnston, Iowa, Marilyn Holdsworth of Carroll, Iowa, Dean Holdsworth and wife Kathy of Omaha, Nebraska, David Holdsworth and wife Valerie of Carroll, Iowa, Julie Holdsworth of Casa Grande, Arizona and her fiancé Carl Plemmons and Jeffrey Holdsworth and wife Cassandra of Omaha, Nebraska; 17 grandchildren; 6 great grandchildren; one brother, Elwyn Maloy and wife Carol of Sheridan, Wyoming, sister-in-law: Virginia Mundt of Manilla, Iowa; brother-in-law: Vernon Holdsworth and his wife Della of Harlan, Iowa, other relatives and friends. Celebration of Life services were held at 2:00 p.m., Friday, November 28, 2014, at the First United Methodist Church, Denison, Iowa, with the Rev. Ken Ferguson officiating. Music for the service included three recorded selections: “Together Again” by Buck Owens, “Crying In the Chapel” by Elvis Presley and “Remember Me” by Celtic Thunder of which Opal dedicated to her children. Those serving as pallbearers were Opal’s grandsons: Travis Holdsworth, Brian Holdsworth, Luke Miller, Matthew Holdsworth, Jordan Holdsworth, Conner Holdsworth, Jacob Holdsworth, Ryan Holdsworth and Drew Holdsworth. Interment was at the Nishnabotna Cemetery, Manilla, Iowa. Following the interment all were invited to return to the church and join the family for fellowship and a catered meal by Staleys. The Pfannebecker Funeral Home, www.pfannebecker.com , Denison, Iowa, was in charge of arrangements. Visitation with the family present was held from noon until service time on Friday, November 28, 2014, at the First United Methodist Church in Denison.