Roberta Ann Gilbert Stith
Roberta Ann Gilbert Stith
Roberta Ann Gilbert Stith, 86, loving wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, passed away Thursday, January 26 at the Aspen Transitional Rehabilitation Center from complications of multiple myeloma. A celebration of Roberta’s life will be held Saturday, February 4, at 3 p.m. at the Cathedral of the
Roberta was born December 18, 1925 to Esther Lily Armstrong and Horace Eugene Gilbert in Chapel, NE. She attended schools in
Big Springs
,
NE
where she graduated as valedictorian of her 12 member high school class when she was 16. She attended classes at the University of Nebraska Kearney before teaching her first class of 31 students in a single-room school in Big Springs when she was only 17.
Roberta met Bill Stith in the spring of 1943. They were married March 26, 1944. Bill served in the U.S. Navy and while he was deployed, Roberta stayed with her aunts in
San Diego
. She returned to Big Springs to work in a family owned restaurant until the war ended. Their first son, Leslie Allen, was born in
Julesburg
,
Colorado
in 1946. In 1947, Bill traveled to
Kansas City
,
MO
, where Bill attended electrical trade school. Roberta and Leslie traveled by train to join him a few months later. In 1948, the couple moved to
Nampa
,
ID
and to
Boise
in 1951. Their second son, Max Gilbert, was born in 1953, and their daughter, LuAnn, was born in 1957.
Roberta attended
Boise
Junior College
in 1962. Bill and Roberta started Tri-State Electric in 1963, working out of their home. Roberta also began substitute teaching in the Boise District in 1964, especially at
Lincoln
Elementary School
for special needs students, as well as keeping books for Tri-State. She will be remembered by many for preparing and serving breakfast to their electricians each morning before they left for work.
Following Bill’s retirement in 1986, they traveled to
Lake Havasu City
,
AZ
, where they built their winter home. Roberta loved the warm weather and welcoming friends to her homes in both
Boise
and Havasu. Together, Roberta and Bill did extensive traveling, and recently they were especially active with the Local 291 Electrician’s Retirees Club in
Boise
.
Roberta was a member of
Whitney
United
Methodist
Church
, Daughters of the Nile Iris Temple #40, a former president of Lady Lions, a former Superintendent of Sunday School at the Cathedral of the
Rockies
, and a den mother of McKinley Scout Troop. She was an avid supporter of her children’s activities, be it baseball, softball, football, drill team, Brownies, or Job’s Daughters.
Roberta is survived by her husband, Bill, of nearly 68 years; three children: sons Leslie (Diane) Stith, Max Stith, and daughter, LuAnn (Mark) McKibben, all of Boise; ten grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren (a tenth great grandchild is expected in September); her sister, Louise (Ken) Young, Stanwood, WA and her brother, Franklin (Charlotte) Gilbert of Nampa, several nieces and nephews, and a large extended family.
Roberta will be greatly missed by each of us. She was a woman of honesty and integrity; she was secure in her faith and loved her family, above all else.
She was preceded in death by her parents; one sister, Leota Gregory; her daughter-in-law, Linda Stith; grandson, Todd Stith; and a very special nephew, Tony Gregory.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Aspen Transitional Rehabilitation, 2867 East Copper Point,
Meridian
,
ID
83642
; or Mountain States Tumor Institute ,
190 East Bannock St.
,
Boise
,
ID
83702
.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Roberta Ann Gilbert Stith, please visit our flower store.
Guestbook
Visits: 1
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
