Roberta Williams
Broken Bow resident, 79
BROKEN BOW-Roberta Mae “Bobbie” (Manning) Williams, 79, of Broken Bow, died Friday, July 15, 2011 at the Golden Living Center in Broken Bow.
Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 19 at Govier Bros. Mortuary Chapel in Broken Bow with Rev. David Harder officiating. Burial will be at the Broken Bow Cemetery.
Visitation will be Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Govier Bros. with family present from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Memorials are suggested to the Roberta Williams Memorial Fund.
She was born December 7, 1931, at Merna to Paul and Alice (Miller) Manning. She graduated from Merna High School in 1949. On October 28, 1949, she married Orville Wayne Williams at Martin, South Dakota. The couple had four children: Sheila Marie, James Ray, Justin Roy and Echo Kay.
Wayne and Roberta lived on ranches in the Sandhills of Nebraska for several years before moving to their current home on the Sumner Road south of Broken Bow in 1958.
Roberta was an Avon lady for nearly 40 years and once worked as a telephone operator and a waitress. Her main job was as a housewife, mom and grandma.
She was active for many years in Home Extension and the 4-H program, chaperoning a 4-H trip to Washington, D.C. and helping with the Custer County Fair. She enjoyed sewing, knitting sweaters and making baby blankets. In her later years, she enjoyed caring for her cats.
Survivors include her husband, daughters Sheila Kendall of Max, N.D. and Echo Clark (Shorty) of Crawford and sons Jim (Cathy) of Sargent and Justin (Kris) of Broken Bow. Roberta leaves eleven grandchildren: Jason (Amy) Williams, Brenda (Lee) Nelson, Tara (Eric) Thomas, Jennifer (Jason) Arensdorf, Tanyor (Tarah) Kendall, Tyrell Kendall, Jared, Colton and Kylie Williams, Caleb and Katrina Studnicka and nine great grandkids.
She also is survived by brothers Franklyn Manning of Lincoln and Jerry Manning of Hershey. She was preceded in death by a son-in-law, Mike Kendall and an infant sister.