Ms. Jones had been primed for the possibility of an Oprah sighting in Marietta. “I’d heard on TV that Oprah was coming to town,” Ms. Jones said. “But you know, what are the chances?”

Then suddenly there was a cluster of big S.U.V.s with darkened windows, and there she was, in the back seat of one. Ms. Jones rushed outside, feeling elated — “just the normal nut case someone would be if they ran into Oprah,” she said.

“At first I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I used to live in Chicago! I have so many stories to tell you!’ And she was unbelievably cordial and wonderful.”

Ms. Jones recalled trying to get her mother tickets to the show. Ms. Winfrey said she wished she would have known.