Millie Opal Wood, 82, of Starkville, Mississippi, passed away on Monday, May 8, 2023. A celebration of her life will be held at the Starkville Church of Christ on Friday, May 12, 2023, with visitation at 9 a.m. and service at 11 with Wesley Thompson officiating. Burial will be at Fulmer Cemetery in Como, Mississippi.
Opal was preceded in death by her husband, Raleigh E. Wood, Jr.; son, Raleigh E. Wood, III; parents H.D. and Blanche Wooten; brothers, Wilton, Perry and Raleigh Wooten; sisters, Annie Mae Kopf and Nora Lea Boling, and brother-in-law, Bennett Wood.
She is survived by the joys and loves of her life, daughter-in- law, Meg Wood; sons Joe (Leslie), Andy (Donna) and Marcus Wood; grandchildren, Lindsay (Logan) Hayes, Katie (Brett) Spring, Reiv (Micah) Wood, Jacob(Maggie) Wood, Marc, Parker, Paul, Ryan, Ethan, Will, and Laura Beth Wood; and great-grandchildren, Hallie and Mary Claire Hayes. Their pictures covered the walls of her home. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Patsy Wooten and Margie Wood and a host of nieces and nephews.
Opal was born on November 20, 1940, in Como, Mississippi. She grew up in Nesbit, Mississippi and earned a Bachelor’s degree from Memphis State University and a Master’s degree from Mississippi State University all in education. She met her husband while attending college in Memphis and they lived in Bainbridge, Georgia, Rockford and Des Plaines, Illinois and Starkville, Mississippi while he was a minister until he passed away in 1973.
She was a member of the Starkville Church of Christ where she taught cradle roll for many years. She taught 6th grade math and science for 30 years in the Starkville Public School District and continued to work for the after-school Extended Day program for an additional 10 years. After the passing of her husband, she raised four young men as a single parent, while completing her Master’s degree. She was one in a million, beautiful inside and out, and was a pillar of strength in the Wood family. She, like the Proverbs 31 woman, was far more precious than jewels, dressed herself with strength and dignity, opened her mouth with wisdom, was never idle, and her children rose up and called her blessed. Opal was small in stature but has left a huge void in the hearts of her family. Precious memories now fill that void. She will be missed dearly.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
