Opal J. Bram

Opal J. Bram, 94, of Clear Lake, died Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017 at the Oakwood Care Center in Clear Lake.

A funeral service was held at 2 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 28, at Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. 4th St., Clear Lake. Burial was in Memorial Park Cemetery.

Opal’s family suggests memorials to the Opal J. Bram Memorial Fund or the Humane Society of North Iowa, 2700 S. Birch Dr., Mason City, Iowa.

Opal Jeanette was born March 23, 1922 on a cold, snowy day about eight miles southwest of Paden, Okla., in a two room log house. She was the daughter of Pete and Ivron Hatfield. She attended school at Vanzant Country School, then went to high school in Paden, Okla., graduating in 1940. After graduation, Opal had a job working for a couple, taking care of their baby. The next school year she worked for another couple taking care of their little boy.

Opal decided to move to Oklahoma City, where she met Fred Bram from Iowa.  He was riding a bus, while serving in the United States Air Force and stationed in Oklahoma.  She worked for Douglas Aircraft in Oklahoma City, which made C47 Cargo Airplanes for World War II. She was a dispatcher for production control. When the war was over, her job was done. She moved with her parents to La Feria, Texas and continued writing letters to Fred, and he would visit her.

Opal was united in marriage to Fred H. Bram in Kansas City, Mo., on March 20, 1946. The couple moved back to Iowa, where they farmed near Hardy for five years. The couple moved to Klemme, Iowa and farmed for three years before buying their first farm north of Ventura.  They lived and farmed there until retiring in 1996, after which they moved to Clear Lake. Opal was a member of the United Methodist Church in Ventura from 1955 until the church closed. She transferred her membership to Garner. She belonged to the Naomi Circle for many years and taught Bible School. Opal was a homemaker, devoted wife, helped with chores and fieldwork, and was a wonderful loving mother to her two daughters, Brenda and Cheryl.

Opal and Fred enjoyed spending many winters in Arizona and Texas, traveling with their camper, until Fred’s death in 1997.  Opal loved visiting and spending time with her daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She also enjoyed gardening, flowers, talking on the phone to friends and family and especially writing letters and hearing from loved ones. She often told stories of when she was a child and living in Oklahoma. Family was very close to her heart.

Those left to cherish her memories are her daughters, Brenda (Joel) Hanson, Garner, and Cheryl (Rick) Moorehead, Ventura; five grandchildren, Stephanie (Michael) Roesch, Pittsburgh, Penn., Kevin (Mary) Hanson, Ventura, Jeff Hanson, Garner, Melissa (Jameson) Deckard, Clear Lake, and Matthew (special friend, Abby) Moorehead, Forest City; seven great-grandchildren, Juel, Jade, and Jenna Hanson, Abbey and Lily Hanson, and Hunter and Charlotte Deckard; her sister, Edith (Glenn) Mitchell, Midwest City, Okla.; her brother, Bennie Hatfield, Oroville, Calif.; along with many nieces and nephews.

Opal was preceded in death by her parents, Broadus “Pete” and Ivron Hatfield, her husband, Fred H. Bram, an infant son, Richard Fred, an infant daughter, Kathy Ann, and a sister, Lora B. Yates.

Ward-Van Slyke Colonial Chapel, 101 N. 4th St., Clear Lake, 641-357-2193. ColonialChapels.com