Opal Virginia Bays Franklin

Earl and Phyllis,

Your Mom and Dad and Rice and Iva were fixtures on the pew in front of us each Sunday at Bedford Baptist Church.It was always a comfort and a joy to see them. Time changes things,but wonderful memories of those good people remain.

Phyllis, Earl and families,
You know that your mom and dad are favorites of the Bays clan! Our dad's favorite was "little Opal" and they had a special relationship and I am sure they are talking now about family, recipes and her "best rolls ever."
Your family visits with our family, the hosting of family reunions, and just dropping by and chatting and golfing are very special memories for me, Tom and the rest of the family.
Opal always had a smile for all and never an unkind...

Just a little note to say we often speak of Opal and Welford. It was their home and a Bays reunion that Paul ask my parents (Josephine & Elton Bays) if he could marry me. They said yes. We think of them often because they were part of our family. Donna & Paul Bailey - Leonardtown, MD

I give my condolences to the Franklin family. Mr. and Mrs. Franklin were the ones who introduced my maternal grandparents, Melvin "Ray" Overstreet (1920-1984) and Ella Perrow Pearson (1921-2008), on a blind date in Lynchburg in 1942, and they were married 11 months later. Mrs. Franklin and my grandmother were friends who were both attending Phillips Secretarial School at Lynchburg at the time, and she and Mr. Franklin knew my grandfather from growing up in Bedford County. Because my...