Barbara Opal Mandel

Mandel, Barbara Opal Our Precious Mom, Grandma, Great Grandmother, Sister, Aunt and Friend, quietly passed away on Monday evening, September 23, 2013. Opal was born to Adolphus Lewis Maedgen and Lily Belle Reynolds on November 22, 1919 in Voss, Texas and grew up in Valera, Texas and Ashland, Kansas. She graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva, Oklahoma in 1943 and taught high school Home Economics in Ashland, Kansas before moving to Cleveland, Ohio. Opal married Fred P. Mandel on August 23, 1955. She is survived by four children, Barbara Bluhm, Cindy Speegle and husband Steve, Mark, Danny, two grandchildren Evan Speegle, Tracy Martin and husband Keith, and two great-granddaughters, Mackenzie and Jamie Martin. A heartfelt gratitude to Mesilla Valley Hospice and the wonderful staff of The Heritage Assisted Living Center in Las Cruces, where Barbara (the name she preferred after she married) lived for the last seven years. She will be honored, remembered, loved and cherished forever. Service will be held on Monday, September 30, 2013, 10:00 am, at Daniels Family Funeral Services, Strong-Thorne Chapel, 1100 Coal Ave SE, Albuquerque. Interment to follow at Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe. Donations may be given in Barbara's honor to any of the following: The American Diabetes Association www.donations.diabetes.org The Wounded Warrior Project www.support.woundedwarriorproject.org Meals on Wheels www.mowaa.org, La Posada, Mesilla Valley Hospice, www.mvhospice.org. Services entrusted to: Daniels Family Funeral Services 1100 Coal Ave SE Albuquerque, NM 87106 505-842-8800