OPAL LUCILE PROCTOR

1917 - 2016

Opal Lucile Proctor, 98, of Kansas City, MO was born Nov 2, 1917 in Granby, MO. Opal passed away June 19th, 2016. Visitation will be 9:30am to 10:30am, service at 10:30am, Wednesday, June 22nd, at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, 13720 Roe Ave., Leawood, KS. Burial at Floral Hills Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Church of the Resurrection Silver Link Ministry, 13720 Roe Ave., Leawood, KS 66224 or Avenue of Life, P.O. Box 34495, Kansas City, MO 64116. Attending church was a lifelong priority for Opal. She was a former member of Jackson Avenue Christian Church and Bader Memorial Christian Church, where she sang in the choir and served as Music Chairman. She was a current member of Raytown Christian Church. She also attended United Methodist Church of the Resurrection and was blessed to receive care from their Silver Link Ministry. Opal's major love and passion throughout her life was entertaining people with music and laughter. She began playing the guitar and singing in an all girl band when she was a teen. They won many talent shows and performed on the radio. In the 1950's, she put her creative talents to use by producing and directing variety shows to raise funds at church and at Askew Elementary School. She taught guitar lessons and organized groups to put on shows at senior centers, care centers and many other venues. She loved to get others to sing along and would often show up at whatever event she was attending with song sheets. Even as she moved into assisted living and then into nursing care she would often spontaneously burst into song and her joy was so contagious others would join in. If she could make someone laugh or smile she was happy. Even as her memories of life began to fade, she could still remember the words to her favorite songs and her love of music gave her joy. Opal was a member of the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary and the Pilot Club of Greater Kansas City. In addition to her music and civic activities, Opal loved to travel and served as a Tour Guide for Alpine Tours and then All Seasons Tours of Oregon, MO from 1983 until 2006. She loved recruiting passengers for the bus tours, seeing the country and writing poems which journaled their travels. During her travels she began collecting porcelain dolls and she loved to show her collection. At age 70, Opal enrolled in Clown School at Penn Valley Community College and was certified with the clown name "Red". For the next 18 years she entertained with Ray-De-Ence Clown Club, Penn Valley Clowns of Kansas City, Chicks & Roosters Clowns, R.S.V.P. Clowns and Clowns for Christ. One of her favorite memories was clowning and marching with elephants at the Police Circus. She is preceded in death by her husband Joseph of 60 years and her siblings. Opal is survived by sons Gary Proctor (Rae) and James Proctor (Karen); daughter Anne Blue (Lance); three grandchildren, Timothy Proctor, Terry Proctor and Danelle Seaton; and four great-grandchildren. C