Phyllis A. Roberson, proud of Nanticoke heritage
Phyllis Antonia Roberson, 84, died Friday, April 15, 2016, in Altadena, Calif. She was born to the late Leon and Mildred Mae (Jackson) Street Oct. 29, 1931.
Although born in The Bronx, N.Y., her family home was in Millsboro. It was there that she spent most of her childhood tending to the family garden and chicken farm, learning to can homegrown fruit and vegetables, cooking farm-fresh food and baked goods, sewing, quilting, braiding rag rugs, and developing many life skills.
Phyllis attended Warwick Elementary School 203 in Millsboro, middle school at the Millsboro Seventh-day Adventist Church, and high school at Pine Forge Academy in Pennsylvania. In 1949, she attended Emmanuel Missionary College, now known as Andrews University, in Michigan, where she studied pre-nursing. She received her BSN in 1954 from Loma Linda University, School of Nursing, in California, and she obtained her master’s degree in nursing from UCLA in 1977.
Phyllis’s life was one of service to her family, church and community. In 1955, she married her sweetheart, Robert L. Roberson Jr., and together they had one daughter, Jan M. De Andrade, with whom she was very close. She was also the proud grandmother of two grandchildren, Ariana Roland and Charles Roland IV. She enjoyed caring for and spending time with them and considered herself a “cool” grandmother. She was also blessed with a great-granddaughter, Savannah Holland, with whom she enjoyed weekly FaceTime chats.
Phyllis deeply loved the Lord and was committed to the Altadena Seventh-day Adventist Church. There, she volunteered her time by serving on the usher board, Sabbath school department, and Health and Temperance Committee, just to name a few. She was also a member of numerous organizations, including the Las Donas Club, Alexis Club, Glendale Academy Home and School Board Association, Wives of the Bench and Bar Association, and the Nanticoke Indian Association.
Phyllis was very proud of her family’s Native American heritage. As a member of the Nanticoke Indian Tribe, located along the Indian River in Delaware, she shared her Native pride with friends and family alike. Phyllis also had many hobbies, including sewing, traveling, cooking/baking, and helping others in need. She will always be remembered for her strong faith, kind and gentle spirit, and graciousness. Up until the day she died, she could be heard to say “thank you” to all who aided her.
Phyllis’s husband, the Hon. Robert L. Roberson Jr., to whom she was married for over 60 years, predeceased her two months earlier. However, she leaves to cherish her memory her daughter, Jan De Andrade, Esq. (Dieco); grandchildren Ariana Roland and Charles Roland IV; great-grandchild, Savannah Holland; and a host of brothers- and sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, cousins, and loving friends and colleagues.
Viewing was held from Tuesday, April 26, at Woods-Valentine Mortuary, 1455 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, Calif. A Celebration of Life service was held Wednesday, April 27, at the Altadena Seventh-day Adventist Church, 2609 Lincoln Ave., Altadena. Interment immediately followed at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), 6300 Forest Lawn Dr., Los Angeles.
