- Date Of Birth: September 17, 1922
- Date Of Death: June 26, 2012
- State: North Carolina
Opal Virginia Gardner Mitchell, 89 of Salisbury, went to be with her Lord on Wednesday, June 26, 2012. She had been living at the Genesis HealthCare Salisbury Center for the past two years.
She was born Sunday, September 17, 1922 in Cap, Virginia, a daughter of the late Elder William Lafayette Gardner and Flora Blanche Mitchell Gardner.
After graduating from Hillsville High School, she continued her education at James Madison College where she received a BS in Education with concentrations in English, Music, and Physics. She graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in 1949.
Opal joined the US Air Force Nurse Corps and served as a nurse at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida. After discharge from the Air Force, she was a registered nurse for many years at the Long Beach, California VA Hospital. In 1969, she transferred to the Salisbury VA Hospital where she worked on 2-4 Surgical Ward and retired in 1983.
She had been a member of Milford Hills Baptist Church since moving to Salisbury. Opal loved the Lord, her family, was passionate about nursing and loved her pets.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by brother: John Tipton Gardner.
Left to cherish her memories are daughters: Michele M. McCarthy (Kevin) of Tucker , GA and Becky Russell (Todd) of Salisbury, only grandchild: Adam Cameron Russell of Charlotte; brother: Carlin Gardner of Mooresville, nieces: Linda Walker (Bobby) of Mooresville and Sandy Harbinson (Billy) of Boone.
