Obituary of Opal Clada Bowling

Opal Clada Bowling, age 88, of Pikeville, TN, died Wednesday, July 7, 2021, at her home. Opal was a member of First Southern Baptist Church. She worked in Michigan at Bowler Roller Bearings in her twenties, then at the Shirt Factory in Dunlap, TN. She lived in Decatur, AL for many years and was a food service manager at the Decatur school system. She returned to Pikeville and was the food service manager at Bledsoe County High School and Bledsoe County Nursing Home and Hospital. She also managed the snack bar at Fall Creek Falls for several years. Opal loved family and having company. She was always ready for a card game, fishing, playing in the fall leaves, or swimming. She also loved planting in her garden, canning, freezing, giving to others, going on trips to the beach with her family, and watching the Braves and her westerns on TV. She will forever be in her family’s heart. She was preceded in death by her husband, Oscar Edwin Bowling; son, Charles “Eddie” Bowling; parents, Otto and Sarah Bickford; brothers, Charles, Lonnie, Dion, Leonard, Harley and Arthur Bickford; sisters, Verna Young, Marie Long and Anna Dodson. She is survived by her son, Jerry Bowling of Pikeville; granddaughters, Leslie Nicole (Jeremy) Castle and Tamara Bowling; great-granddaughters, Makaylah Castle, Aspen Raines, and Charleigh Raines; brother, Otis Bickford of Pikeville; and sisters, Evaughn Bickford of Pikeville and Jean Seals of Cookeville; and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. CDT in the funeral home chapel with Rev. David Rogers officiating. Burial will be in Bickford Cemetery. Online condolences can be made at www.reedfamilyfh.com. Arrangements are by Putnam-Reed Funeral Home, 1171 Main Street, Pikeville, TN. Visitation will be held Friday, July 9, 2021 from 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. CDT and Saturday, July 10, 2021 from 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. CDT.