Opal B. Cartney

Opal Blanche (Liffengren) Cartney, age 92, of Watertown, SD, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, after suffering heart failure.  She was the widow of James "Jim" Cartney.  Funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Watertown with Father John Fischer as the celebrant.  Music will be provided by Jane Rokesek as organist and Julie Kjenstad as song leader.  A luncheon will follow in the fellowship hall.  The funeral service will be live-streamed via the Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel website on the bottom of Opal's obituary.

Friends and family are invited to attend a public viewing on Monday, July 8, 2024, from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. with a prayer service to follow with a sharing of memories at Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel in Watertown.

Burial will be held at the Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, SD on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. (Mountain Time).  Active pallbearers will include grandchildren and great grandchildren:   Cory Collins, Nick Collins, Kate Collins, Jackson Sebring, Garrett Blankenship, Travis Cartney, Rick Cartney, Andrew Bright, Alex Bright, and Bayley Anderson.

Opal was the daughter of Helmer and Edna Liffengren of Draper, South Dakota.  She was a “leap year” baby born on February 29, 1932, and celebrated her twenty-third birthday in February of this year.  She was married to James Thomas Cartney for 66 years and they had six children.  Opal devoted herself to her husband and to raising her children.  She was known to be a kind, loving, gentle woman with a strong faith in Christianity.  Her children all recall her beautiful voice as she sang while doing daily tasks.  Opal lived a full life enjoying gardening, sewing, quilting even, crafts, reading, and square dancing.  She also loved to write and wrote a complete novel.

Opal was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and three of her four siblings- Luverne Liffengren (Genevive); Louise Hullinger (Cliff), and Ida Jansen (Arthur).  She was also preceded by her son-in law Kevin Collins and her daughter-in-law Harriett Cartney.

She is survived by her younger brother, Norman who lives in Faribault, Minnesota. Her six children:  Tim Cartney, Kay Cartney, Mike Cartney (Michele) of Watertown, Ken Cartney (Diane) of Aberdeen, Laural Jackson (Don) of Delta Junction, Alaska and Kristy Collins of Spearfish.

Opal absolutely loved each and every one of her grandchildren and their families:   Emily, Michelle, Laurie, Jennifer, Rick, Jessica, Travis, Trisha, Byron, Shayna, Tasha, Melissa, Mark, Cory, Nick, and Katie.  She was blessed to have twenty-six great grandchildren and two great, great grandchildren.

Arrangements by Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel www.crawfordosthus.com Watertown, Hayti, De Smet, Bryant, Arlington, Lake Preston and Oldham.

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