Vicki Lin Opal

Vicki Lin Opal, a dedicated and beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away on November 14, 2021, in Boulder, Colorado. She was born on June 7, 1946 in Council Bluffs, Iowa to the late Nicholas and Agnes (Roberts) Culjat.

Vicki graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, Council Bluffs, IA, in 1964. She worked for a short time at Mutual of Omaha until Kent--whose family had moved to Boulder--contacted her and rekindled their childhood romance; they’d known each other since Vicki was twelve and Kent was the neighborhood paperboy. After her family made several trips to Colorado to visit Kent’s family, Kent proposed to her the summer of 1965. The two were married that October 30th at Holy Family Catholic Church in Council Bluffs, Iowa. They began their life together, first in Boulder and then moving to Longmont in 1968, where they purchased a new house that she made into the home where they raised their children, and she supported Kent as he worked for IBM for the next 40 years.

Vicki’s greatest joy was spending time with family, celebrating holidays and special occasions. She loved time in the Rocky Mountains and traveling in the USA and internationally, with a special love for cruising where she visited the Caribbean, Europe, and Alaska. Vicki fulfilled a lifelong dream of visiting her father’s homeland of Croatia during a cruise with Kent. Vicki was amazingly talented and creative, and she loved making beautiful keepsakes for her family and friends that she’d cross-stitched, knitted, beaded, crocheted, or scrapbooked.

Vicki is survived by her adoring and devoted husband, Kent Opal; loving children Andrea (Ron) Grider, Jeffrey (Peggy) Opal; Matthew (Rebekah) Opal; brother Nick (Donna) Culjat; as well as precious grandchildren Krystyle (Brian) Schrader, Austin Grider, Genevieve and Heather Opal along with her beloved cocker spaniel, Cocoa. In addition to her parents, Vicki was preceded in death by her sister, Mary Wells.

The funeral will take place at Howe Mortuary, 439 Coffman Street, Longmont, CO, 80501, on Monday, November 22, at 10am. Burial will take place following the funeral at Foothills Gardens of Memory north of Longmont on Highway 287, followed by a reception at Howe Mortuary.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Scleroderma Research Foundation (https://srfcure.org/) in San Francisco, CA, in Vicki’s honor.