Opal Jeanne Jaquette
Marriages
Frank - January 3, 1945
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 4D Death Notice - June 16, 2019
Opal Jeanne Jaquette, 92, Clifton, died June 15, 2019, at HopeWest Hospice Care Center. Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Martin Mortuary. She was a teacher and librarian. Survivors include one son, Mark of Eugene, Oregon; one daughter, Julie L. Jaquette of Prescott, Arizona; and five grandchildren. Memorial contributions to Palisade Grace Baptist Church Missionary Fund.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 6A Obituary - June 19, 2019
Opal Jeanne Jaquette February 24, 1927 - June 15, 2019 Opal Jaquette, long time resident of Grand Junction and Guam, ran into the arms of her Savior Jesus, husband Frank, and daughter Elaura, at 12:50 a.m., Saturday, June 15, 2019, at HopeWest Hospice. This page wouldn’t have the room needed to tell all of Opal’s accomplishments, places she traveled, and the people she blessed. Opal was born in Fruita, Colorado on February 24, 1927. Her family was the Blackshears. Her father was Alva; mother, Lou Vera; brothers, Paul, Lawrence, James, and Alva, and sister, Violet. She met Frank in a Fruita soda shop in 1944, and three weeks later they eloped, on January 3, 1945. In October they had daughter, Elaura. They became farmers in Fruitvale, and Frank would eventually also get a Mathematics degree from Western State. In the early sixties, Frank and Opal adopted Mark and Julie into the family. After the tragic death of their daughter, Elaura, in 1966, the family moved to Guam. Frank was a Math professor at the University of Guam, and Opal got her Master in Asian History and a minor in Library Science. She used these degrees to teach Asian History at several high schools, and also was a librarian at junior high schools other years. While the family lived on Guam, they took the opportunity to travel during summers throughout Asia, Europe, and back to the states occasionally to catch up with family. Both she and Frank taught for more than 20 years, and the family felt healed and deeply blessed during the years they lived on Guam. After their retirement from teaching, Opal and Frank traveled even more, in an RV, a Cessna (flying from Florida to Grand Junction!), and an MG Midget at different times. When Frank died in 2007, Opal began to take an annual trip to Guam each winter to warm herself up in the sun and warmth of her island ‘family.’ This winter was the first year she didn’t. Signs and the beginning struggles of dementia eventually brought her family in March to help with the fast decline of her health. She suffered from a stroke two weeks ago. She is survived by son, Mark; daughter in-law, Rebecca; grandchildren, Mikaela, Isabel and Daniel; daughter, Julie; Julie’s fiancee, Sandra, and granddaughters, Dianna and Sarah. The funeral service for Opal will be on Thursday, June 20 at 11:00 a.m. at Martin Mortuary. The family requests, instead of flowers, that your memorial contribution be made to Palisade Grace Baptist Church ‘Missionary Fund,’ in honor of Opal’s heart for missions.
