Opal was one of the first to befriend me when I joined here, and I admired her in a lot of ways. I think this is the closest to a funeral I can hope for, sadly.
Goodbye to an old friend. She’ll be missed.
She was incredibly happy these past few months with Jack. She said she didn’t think she would ever be happy again, then suddenly out of nowhere she met this guy who she described as her “soulmate.” If you had seen the photos of them together, you would know they were made for each other. They looked so happy. In the past couple of months she posted all the time about how much in love she was, and how she and Jack would go out to clubs, dressed up in fabulous costume, and dance non-stop all night. (She was an amazing dancer. She and I used to go out dancing together and I was so impressed with her dancing, and people would just gather around and watch her, she was so good.)
I feel really bad for Jack and can’t imagine the pain he’s going through. If you’re out there reading this Jack, know that we’re thinking of you.
Can’t take credit for that. She got her grammar geekiness from me, but I borrowed the lists from her.
I’m very, very sorry for your loss. Opal and I were never close, but having recently lost someone I loved very much, I can only imagine what you’re going through.
1-Opal was a talented person who touched many lives.
2-The world did not shrink with her loss.
3-It grew larger because of her journey.
may her memory be eternal.
peace and strength to her friends and family, mom and dominic.
I didn’t know her, and never interacted with her. But I was certainly aware of who she was and I really like her being here, dancing to her different drum. She helped define this place. And she was a super talented artist to boot, not to mention, very pretty.
My condolences to her family. Very sad.
Wow, this is incredibly shocking and sad news. I felt Opal’s huge presence on the board almost immediately when I first joined some 13 years ago. I remember following a link to her site and seeing a picture of her and somehow getting the feeling that this was a person of great depth and many complex layers. Really.
I met her once at a NY Dopefest and ended up hanging out with her and a small group for most of the night.
I’m so glad I got the chance to know you Opal. It’s a really strange thought, you not being here anymore. 
We’ve had a fair number of Dopers on Jeopardy, but “Hi Opal” was the only Doper meme that got propagated on the show. I don’t remember which Doper said it on air.
I cannot add anything of substance that has not already been said.
I, like many above, am a long time lurker (says 2002 but have been around much longer). I had not met her or anyone else on this board, as true of a great number of the members. Even so, she has touched me as she has so many others through both her posts and her presence in other’s remeberances of her posts.
Being a nonbeliever, I unfortunately take no solace in an afterlife. As with all the deaths I’ve endured, however, the thing that keeps me going more than anything else, is the impact that they have on my personality. For me, that is their eternal legacy.
This does very little to alleviate the grief of the event, but it gets me by day to day knowing that my life has been shaped by those whom I interact with (even passively).
Thanks kiddo for everything you’ve brought to all of us.
Another long-time mostly-lurker here - while I don’t think I ever directly interacted with OpalCat, she has been of the more memorable SDMB’ers in my mind. I would have to agree with those who have said she lived her life exhuberantly and shared herself generously.
My best wishes to her family and friends as they face this difficult time.
Thanks for sharing. It made me smile on this foggy dreary morning.
I thought it was him, but I wasn’t sure. Thank you for tracking down that post.
Wow, this comes at a surprise. I haven’t had any contact with Opal outside of when I met her in person at a MAD Dopefest at GingerOfTheNorth and Weirddave’s house several years ago. I felt she was a very pleasant and high-energy woman from the few hours I spent around her. Best wishes and condolences to her friends and family.
Like a lot of others, there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said.
Condolences to her family and friends at this sad time.
Fudge.
She enlightened me on pot handle washing procedures.
-LC
You know… Opal annoyed the hell out of me, the way she’d ask for advice and then shoot everybody who replied down because it wasn’t the advice she was looking for. I stopped offering any.
Still, Opal provided a haven when SDMB looked like it might be going away. After having made friends here, both IRL and (as I like to call the ones I’ve never met IRL) ‘imaginary’, I didn’t want to lose touch. Opal ensured that our community survived even if SDMB didn’t.
I never mentioned how attractive she was. I think it’s a little creepy to say such things on the Internet. But she was attractive.
I never commented on her art. She was a talented artist.
I did say ‘Hi Opal’ a few times, but I stopped doing that. If my list had two items, it had two items.
It makes me sad to hear of her death. She will be missed. I offer my heartfelt condolences to her son, her mother, and the rest of her family.
Sad news. Opal gave me a LJ code a long time ago. Sorry to her family and friends.