Opal Daniels

1922 - 2011

Opal Zella (Hanks) Daniels

Dec. 29, 1922

May 4, 2011

On a glorious spring day at the Daniels' Ranch and on the date of her 70th wedding anniversary, May 4, 2011, Opal Zella (Hanks) Daniels went home to God and was reunited with the love of her life and eternal dance partner Leroy.

Opal was born to Roy C. and Vida (Gallop) Hanks in Fort Bidwell, CA on December 29, 1922. Opal married Leroy Daniels on May 4, 1941 and in 1951 the Daniels family moved from Lake City, CA to Fallon. They settled in the Harmon District and established the Daniels Ranch, which Opal was still running at the time of her passing.

Professionally, Opal was a nurse at Churchill County Hospital where she cared for her patients as though they were family for over 20 years. Opal was such a dedicated nurse that she was always the first to respond to those off-duty "caregiver" requests from friends, family and neighbors.

She was a talented artist, capable of capturing on canvas nature's beauty and she loved to garden. Anything she planted grew to gigantic proportions. No matter when she planted them, her tomatoes never froze, her rose garden had the biggest blooms and she turned an alkali patch into an amazing floral bouquet.

Opal was a fabulous cook and she was the spark plug behind the cookbook "Harmony in the Kitchen" which was published by the Harmony Social Club. When she and Leroy took over running a local Fallon dairy, Opal developed an award winning recipe for chocolate chip cookies using cream. The students of the Harmon School lucked out in the late 1950's when Opal agreed to be their "lunch lady." From homemade biscuits to fresh vegetables right from the garden, Opal made all the Harmon School's meals from scratch and the students feasted daily on nutritious, home cooked meals.

Opal was a skilled photographer and could always be counted on to document every special family event. She created pictorial family biographies for each of her grand children and taught them the importance of their heritage. She was especially proud of the "Hanks" family name and the fact that her heritage could be traced back to Nancy Hanks, the mother of Abraham Lincoln.

Opal never had a hair out of place. She could work out in the field, cook for a dozen hired hands, work a shift at the hospital, tend her garden and look like a million dollars. But most off all, Opal loved her family and as its Matriarch she guided, cared for and was "the rock" on which everyone could depend.

Opal was a founding member of the Harmony Social Club, the Lucky Seven Club, a member of the Methodist Church, the Churchill County Farm Bureau; and as a keen softball player herself, she was a continuous supporter of the Churchill County High School sports programs.

Opal was preceded in death by her husband and Tennessee Waltzing partner, Leroy; daughter, Judy Adele, and son Larry Gene, and brothers Carl, Gene and Jim Hanks. She is survived by immediate family members: son John (Jessica) Daniels, of Carson City; daughter in law Patty Daniels, Fallon; sisters, Norma Hapgood, Lake City, CA and Zola (Jerry) Lewis, Grants Pass, OR; grand children: Chris (Carolynne) Daniels, Fallon, Alicia (Jake) Brown, Washoe Valley, Jaime (Curt) Daniels, Reno, Justin (Amanda) Daniels, Salmon, ID, and Colt Daniels, Fallon; great-grand children: Reillie and McCall Daniels and Sadie Adele and Holman John Brown.

Viewing will be Tuesday, May 10 at 10 a.m. with services at 11 a.m. at the Smith Family Funeral Home in Fallon. Burial will follow at the Churchill County Cemetery. In celebration of this very remarkable lady's life, the family invites everyone to the Harmon School following the services to join in an old fashioned Daniels' Barbecue. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Harmon School Association, c/o Richard Allegre, 5300 Stillwater Road, Fallon, NV, 89406, the Reno Cancer Foundation, 1155 Mill St., Reno, NV, 89502 or Opal can be honored by simply being there to care for someone.