MANNING, OPAL IRENE CARTER (1915 ~ 2000). Opal Irene Carter Manning was born in West Plains, Missouri to Anderson and Mary Francis Carter on December 8, 1915. The youngest of nine children, Manning graduated from high school and began working as a legal secretary for the District Attorney of Howell County, Missouri.

While working in Howell County, Manning met and married her first husband. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1961, she married Rush Manning, a schoolteacher, who was later elected to serve two terms in the Texas House of Representatives from Shelby County, Texas.

In all, the Mannings shared forty-one years of marriage, which was "filled with happiness, travel, dancing and, most importantly, helping others recover from the ravages of alcoholism."

In 1997, the Mannings moved from their home in Burleson, Texas, to Austin to be closer to their grandchildren. Opal Manning died on December 25, 2000 and was buried in the Texas State Cemetery two days later.

Information taken from obituary in the Austin American-Statesman, Wednesday, December 27, 2000 and Texas State Cemetery file materials.