Courtland Murray Roberts, 91, of Allen died Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024 at the Pender Community Hospital in Pender.
Visitation will be held Sunday, Dec. 22 from 5 to 7:00 p.m. with a prayer service at 7 p.m. at Munderloh–Smith Funeral Home in Wakefield. Funeral services will be held Monday, Dec. 23 at 10:30 a.m. at First Lutheran Church in Allen. Burial will be in the Eastview Cemetery in Allen.
Arrangements are under the direction of Munderloh–Smith Funeral Home in Wakefield.
Courtland Roberts was born May 15, 1933, in Allen to Richard and Ruth (Johnston) Roberts. He grew up on a farm in Allen and graduated from Allen High School in 1951. On Feb. 14, 1952, he married Darlene Magnuson and they have been married for 72 years. They have three children, Jerome, Verneal, and Derwin.
Courtland loved farming. He purchased his first new tractor, a 38hp 77 Oliver and later purchased a stack mover and did custom stack moving. He also had a stacker that fit on the 77 Oliver to do custom hay stacking. He restored this tractor and has driven it in various 4th of July parades in the area. While farming over the years Courtland took on many forms of custom work including trucking, combining, and chopping.
Starting in the late 60's Courtland began driving a school bus in Allen, which he did for 36 years. He belonged to the Allen Farm Bureau, serving as president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer, and went to several State Conventions. He served on the Dixon County Fair Board for many years and was County Supervisor for six years. He was also active in the Allen Housing Authority. Courtland donated over 16 gallons of blood to the Siouxland Blood Bank.
Courtland and Darlene enjoyed square dancing for over 60 years. While with the Laurel Twirlers, they square danced at many places across the country including: Washington D.C., Indiana, Colorado, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota. Courtland was an avid Cornhusker fan and always watched or listened to the football game on Saturdays.
He loved doing things with his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. They had a camper that they took on many camping trips with the grandkids to various sites in Nebraska. Court and Darlene enjoyed traveling and went to all 50 states. They traveled to Canada, Mexico, and several South American countries. They saw several countries in Europe including Ireland and England. They also visited Australia, New Zealand, and China.
Survivors include his wife, Darlene Roberts of Allen; sister, Sherrill Halsey of Earp, California, brother-in-law, Darrel Magnuson of Emerson; sister-in-law, Janice Roberts of Wakefield; children, Jerome (Christy) Roberts of Allen, Verneal Roberts of Justin, Texas and Derwin (Betty) Roberts of Pender; grandchildren, Dustin Roberts, Kami (Matt) Murphy, Dakota Roberts, Haylie Roberts, Mercede Roberts; great-grandchildren: Nathanial Roberts, Hudson Murphy, Halle Murphy, and Leonidas Roberts.
He was preceded in death by his father, Richard Roberts; mother, Ruth Roberts; brother, Kendall Roberts; sister, Arlene Goodell; sister, Ardith Armour; brother, Dallas Roberts; and infant brother, Dennis Roberts.
