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There’s an old saying: Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Opal Clark Shell was 89 years old when she died June 26 at the Waters of Roan Highlands Nursing Home. She didn’t have a lot of wrinkles, but she left a lot of memories for her family and friends.

Opal was a hard worker who enjoyed doing and learning new things. In fact, at age 73 she learned to play the guitar but had to give it up in later years due to arthritis in her hands and fingers. One of her favorite things to do was to go to musical jams.

“She enjoyed music, especially older country music. Her favorite piece of music was ‘Kiss an Angel Good Morning’ by Charley Pride,” shared her daughter, Rachel Shell.

She noted that her mother also had a beautiful singing voice.

Opal also enjoyed working puzzles and doing things for her family.

She was a newspaper carrier for more than 30 years, delivering both the Elizabethton Star and Johnson City Press. Kathy Scalf, who for many years worked in the Star circulation department, said Opal was a “very dependable carrier. No matter what the weather was, she always showed up to get her papers and do her route.”

Opal’s daughter said she knew everyone on her route, which was in the rugged areas of Hampton and Roan Mountain, including Fairview and Shell Creek. She recalled that during the winter of 1998, which was cold and snowy, her mother only missed two days of making her route.

“She was tough and often could go through snow when no one else could. Sometimes when the weather was snowy and bad, she would deliver Christmas packages for people as she did her route. She not only was a good driver, but she had a good heart,” Rachel said in recalling events in her mother’s newspaper delivery career.

In addition to being a newspaper delivery person, Opal also enjoyed sewing and crafts.

“She made Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls to sell, as well as other items. With the Raggedy Ann and Andies, she made their bodies, stuffed them, sewed their clothes and did their hair. It was a time-consuming job,” Rachel explained.

Opal was one of 12 children of Alfred and Juanita Clark of the Fairview community of Simerly Creek. She was preceded in death by all her brothers and sisters except one, Janice, as well as her husband, Paige Shell, and a son, Mitchell Shell. She had only one daughter, Rachel, and her husband, Jimmy.

Rachel shared that her mother also leaves behind a big orange cat, which she loved and cared for greatly.

“It now is mine,” she said.

She noted that her mother also enjoyed riding horses when she was younger.

“She probably rode them up until she was about 75,” Rachel said.

“She was tough. She would tackle almost anything. When growing up, she would drive a three-quarter-ton pickup truck,” said Rachel, but quickly noted she was a very kind and gentle lady and good mother.

Rachel added that her mother was a good cook.

“She made the best biscuits and gravy of anyone around, and bean cakes were a favorite thing of hers to make. And it was a favorite dish of mine,” she said.

She explained that she made the cake by using pinto beans and mixing in meal, flour and onion if you wanted it. She would make a cake of the ingredients and fry them.

Rachel shared that her mother was a Christian, even though she didn’t get to attend church much, especially on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings because of her paper delivery schedule.

“My mother was tough, but a very gentle woman. She loved her family and was a good neighbor and friend to many,” shared Rachel.

Opal Shell was laid to rest in the Richardson Cemetery in Roan Mountain.

It can be said of Opal that she participated in life rather than let it pass her by, and the things she chose to do brought joy to others as well as to herself. Her life was full of challenges, but she met them head-on.