Opal Fox Barker died peacefully at her residence in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, on August 20, 2021.
She was born on November 23, 1921, the daughter of Cicero Gaston Fox and Lucy Mae Catlett Fox of Rossville, GA. Opal was raised in Rossville and graduated from Rossville High School in 1938.
Opal was preceded in death by her parents as well as her sisters Marian Harrison, Billie Phillips, and Irene Leake and her husband F. Stewart Barker, jr. and her son Frank S. Barker, III.
During her life, Opal was an active member of McFarland United Methodist Church. She participated in many charitable organizations while caring for her family. She enjoyed traveling and often told her family stories of growing up in Chattanooga before TVA, when she would take a rowboat into downtown with her father, or when she and her sisters traveled by steam train to see Dwight Eisenhower speak in Central Park after the end of the second world war and wild tales of cross country road trips with her children fighting over a lost hat in the back seat of the car.
Her spirit was exemplified by a story she told of when she walked into her father’s office as a teenager, putting her shoe up on his desk to show him the hole and declaring, “You need to buy me a new pair of shoes!” She got those shoes.
Opal is survived by her sons Bruce Barker, John Barker and Reed Barker; daughters-in-law Marita Barker, Diane Barker, and Leslie Barker; grandchildren Renee Blevins, Jeremy Barker, John Barker, Joshuah Barker, Chelsea Barker, and Grace Barker; great-grandchildren Jady Barker, Kallin Barker, Hannah Barker, Lane Barker, Emma Barker, Brianna Blevins, and Brittany Skiles; great-great-grandchildren Sawyer Mae Skiles and Brantley Skiles and many relations.
The family wishes to extend their sincere thanks to Thrive at Brow Wood and Claris Hospice for their extraordinary care and tireless support during Opal’s final days on this earth. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the charity of one’s choice.
Share a memory of Opal and sign the online guestbook at www.lane-southcrestchapel.com.
Graveside services will be held on Thursday, Aug. 26, at 11 a.m. at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.
The family will receive friends Wednesday, Aug. 25, from 5-8 p.m. at the South Crest Chapel of Lane Funeral Home and Crematory, Rossville, Ga.