OPAL L. FREED, 87, of rural Calumet, Iowa passed away Wednesday morning, February 25, 2009 at her farm home south of Calumet.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, February 28th, at 2 p.m. at the Oakdale Evangelical Free Church, rural Meriden, Iowa. Pastor Clint Hogrefe will officiate and burial will be in the Liberty Cemetery, north of Meriden. There will be a family prayer service at 1:45 p.m. at the Church on Saturday. Visitation will be on Friday from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Oakdale Evangelical Free Church with the family at the church from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. The Boothby Funeral Home in Cherokee has charge of the arrangements. Online condolences can be sent to www.boothbyfuneral.com

Opal Lorraine Benson was born on August 20, 1921 near Marcus, Iowa to Edwin and Esther (Gustafson) Benson. She grew up in the Meriden area and graduated from Meriden High School. On February 16, 1941 Opal married Paul Freed in Cherokee, Iowa. They established their home on a farm by Primghar. They also lived near Meriden and Paullina. In 1950 they moved to their home on a farm near Calumet where Opal resided until her death. Opal attended Oakdale Evangelical Free Church and was a member of the Calumet Federated Women's Club. She loved to cook and bake and enjoyed sharing these treats with her family and friends when they stopped by.

She was preceded in death by her husband Paul in 1981, her parents, one brother Cliff Benson and one sister Maxine Bell.

Left to cherish her memory are her two sons and their wives; Dennis and Sharon Freed of Paullina. Iowa and Dean and Maureen Freed of Sanborn, Iowa; 6 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.