of Little Rock, AR

September 17, 1926 - March 4, 2010

Opal Chandler Kidd Koone, of Little Rock, passed away peacefully into the arms of her Lord with family by her side, on March 4, 2010. She was 83.

She was born Opal Bernice Chandler on September 17, 1926, in Clinton, Arkansas to the late Mattie [Griggs] and the Reverend William Lester Chandler of the Walnut Grove community in Van Buren County.

She is preceded in death by her first husband and the love of her life for 36 years Lilburn Lane Kidd of Little Rock, her second husband of 16 years Harold Koone of Clinton, two older brothers Winston G. Chandler and Wendell C. Chandler of Little Rock, and an infant son, Billy John Kidd of Los Angeles.

From her first marriage to Lilburn Kidd she is survived by her son Lane Chandler Kidd and wife Jennifer of Little Rock, her daughter Sherry Kidd Tomlinson of Little Rock, five grandchildren of whom she was especially proud: Justin Brucks and wife Amanda, Marisa Noelle Pavan, Lauren Anderson and husband John Thomas, Will Kidd and Griffin Kidd; and three great grandchildren: Caroline Anderson, Isabel Brucks, and Catherine Anderson.

From her second marriage to Harold Koone three stepchildren survive: Dr. Michael Koone of Morrilton, Ark. and Richard Koone and wife Nancy of Austin, Tex., and Alicia Satterfield and husband Marty of Perryville, Ark., and seven step grand children for whom she was a loving stepmother to all.

Opal had a beautiful alto voice and was an active singer all her life. At a young age, she joined her father and two brothers in a traveling gospel quartet, performing at various community and church gatherings in the Ozark Mountains during the 1930s.

She graduated from Clinton High School in 1945 and attended Arkansas State Teachers College (UCA) in Conway. She earned a teacher certificate and for one year taught in a one-room schoolhouse on Crowell Mountain in rural Van Buren County.

She married Lilburn Lane Kidd on March 16, 1947, and they moved to Whittier, Cali. where they worked in downtown Los Angeles, she as a legal secretary and her husband for Pacific Indemnity Insurance Company.

She quit working and stayed at home after her two surviving children were born. She often commented on how beautiful it was to live in southern California in the 1950s.

In 1957, they returned to Arkansas where her husband Lilburn joined her brothers Winston and Wendell Chandler in operating several trucking companies.


Between 1978 and 1983, she worked for the Arkansas Department of Vocational Education in Little Rock.

She married Harold Koone in 1983 and moved to Clinton, Arkansas, where she was reunited with many family and friends from childhood. She joined the First United Methodist Church in Clinton and was active in the church choir and Women's Circle. She was also a member of the Clinton Garden Club.

In 2006, Opal moved back to Little Rock to be closer to her children and grandchildren. In 2010, she transferred membership to Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock.

Opal was known for her sense of fashion, for being meticulous about her appearance, for her zest for life, and for her many talents as a wonderful homemaker, entertainer, hostess, oil and watercolor painter, cake decorator, an exceptional cook and especially a fan of almost all music genres. She was also an avid flower gardener, pianist, seamstress, loved arts and crafts and never passed an opportunity to go shopping. She was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Her children, grandchildren, brothers, nieces and nephews were always the center of her life. She was loving, gracious and compassionate, possessing an outgoing personality and always full of life with a contagious laugh. She was blessed with a host of many close friends.

Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church with Reverend Vic Nixon, Reverend Jeff Hampton and Winston Chandler, Jr. officiating. Interment will be in Pinecrest Memorial Park.

Pallbearers for Mrs. Koone will be Harold Atkins, Dwight Chandler, Jeff Chandler, Mike Chandler, Chris George and Eddie Passmore.

Family will receive friends from 4:00-6:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 9, 2010 at Roller Chenal Funeral Home (224-8300).

Memorials may be made in memory of Opal to the Pulaski Heights United Methodist Foundation, 4823 Woodlawn, Little Rock, Arkansas 72205.

Obituary Provided By:
Roller-Chenal Funeral Home
13801 Chenal Parkway
Little Rock, AR  72211
www.rollerfuneralhomes.com