Opal Boxx Champion Gore, 89, was born in Calhoun County on July 30, 1920, and moved to Water Valley at the age of six months. She died on March 23, 2010, in the Yalobusha County Nursing Home, where she had lived since June 1999. She was a retired Social Worker for the Yalobusha County Welfare Office, was a graduate of the University of Mississippi, and did post-graduate work in Tuscaloosa, AL.
Mrs. Gore was a member of Bethel Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School for over fifty years and sang in the church choir. She served on the flower and cemetery committees and was secretary of the choir and the W.M.U.
She was a Past Matron of the Water Valley Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, a Life Member of the Water Valley Junior Auxiliary, and a member of the Garden Club of Water Valley. She enjoyed planning and hosting gatherings and events for her family and friends and took much pleasure in maintaining a beautiful yard at her home on Champion Circle.
Mrs. Gore was the third of six children born to Lillie Dickey Boxx and Luther Linder Boxx and was preceded in death by her parents and four siblings: Clarence Vaiden Boxx, Gladys Boxx Evans, Mildred Boxx Finch, and E.T. Boxx. She was married to William Oscar “Bill” Champion on December 21, 1940, until his death on January 23, 1967. She was later married to Thomas Olin Gore, Jr., on January 4, 1975, until his death on May 15, 1997. Opal and Bill Champion were parents of an infant son, Harold Leon Champion, who died at birth on November 2, 1943.
She is survived by her brother, Rayford L. Boxx of Coffeeville, MS, and five nieces and nephews: Mary Dawn Boxx Peeples; Linda Evans White; Bill Finch, Jr.; Ray Boxx; and Charles Boxx. Niece Peggy Boxx Ruffin, died on February 27, 2010. Mrs. Gore is also survived by two step-children: Tommy Gore of Decatur, IL, and Elizabeth Gore Shoemake of Columbus, MS.
Visitation for Mrs. Gore will be held at Seven Oaks Funeral Home from 1:30 until 2:30 PM on Friday, March 26, 2010, with the funeral service immediately following at 2:30 PM. Bro. James Edwards and Dr. Dan Champion will conduct the service.
Serving as pallbearers are: Charles Boxx, Ray Boxx, Jim Gholson, Wayne Harris, Buster Jackson, and Bud McCluskey. Honorary pallbearers are: Al Dollahite, Wade Doolin, Charlie Huckaby, Atlas Earl Tutor, Jim Ward, and Tommy White. Interment will follow at Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to the Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery Fund or to the church’s General Fund.