Thursday, January 21, 2021
Opal Louella (Smith) Wyckoff died January 20th, 2021 on her 79th birthday surrounded by her loving family at her home after a short illness. She was born January 20th, 1942 to Ralph and Edna (Phillips) Smith at their home in Metz, Mo. She married William (Bill) Wyckoff on May 30, 1962 in Bronaugh, MO. Upon graduation from Metz High School, Metz, MO, she began working at Nelly Don as a seamstress. After marrying William, they moved to Pittsburg, KS where he worked as a truck driver for the Van Tassel Company, and Opal enjoyed accompanying him on trips around the U.S. In May 1965, Opal and he opened Wyckoffs Service Station and Café at the Junction of Highway 54 and 43. Opal did the bookkeeping, cooked, ran the café, and maintained the inventory for the mini-convenience store located in the station. In 1972, the business closed due to the expansion of Highway 54 into a four-lane highway. At that time, they bought a farm south of Deerfield, MO.