Opal Marie (Wear) Lewellen
Opal Marie (Wear) Lewellen, 82, of Gentry, Ark., died on Nov. 10, 2022, at the Siloam Springs Regional Hospital in Siloam Springs, surrounded by her loved ones.
She was born to Leland Wear and Elsie (Plummer) Wear on Aug. 29, 1940, in Garden City, Kan. She spent her childhood in Anderson, Mo., and moved with her family to Gentry when she was 13 years old. She attended and graduated from Ozark Adventist Academy in Gentry. She met Earl Lewellen on a creek bank while taking a break from picking green beans. They were married in 1958 and raised four children. They had been married 46 years when Earl died. Opal was a homemaker and reared most of her grandchildren until they reached elementary school age. She was the matriarch of her family. She enjoyed many hobbies, including gardening, embroidery, camping, fishing, puzzles, reading, and playing dominos with her family. She attended First Baptist Church in Gentry.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Earl Samuel Lewellen; brothers, Cecil Wear, Ray Wear, and Billy; sisters, Melba, Wilma, and Shirley (Wear) McCartney-Ohl.
She is survived by her daughters, Linda Williams and husband Keith, of Gentry; Mary Bailey and husband David, of Gentry; Sharon Jones and husband Chuck, of Siloam Springs; her son, Raymond Lewellen and wife Betty, of Seligman, Mo.; 14 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; brothers, Walter Wear, of Gentry; David Wear, of New Mexico; John Wear, of Alabama; Frank Lee, of Gentry; Joe Lee, of Gentry; sisters: Pat McKinley, of Oklahoma; and Ann Coker, of Tennessee.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12, at First Baptist Church in Gentry. To sign the online guestbook, visit www.wassonfuneralhome.com.