Roberta J. Carman, 101, of Wayne, died Thursday, May 20, 2021 at the Wakefield Health Care Center in Wakefield.
Services will be held Friday, July 9 at 11 a.m. at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Wayne. Visitation will be Friday, July 9 from 9 a.m. until service time at the church. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery.
Memorials may be directed in care of the Carman family for a later designation.
Arrangements are with Hasemann Funeral Home of Wayne
Roberta Jeanne (Wert) Carman, was born May 20, 1920 in Otoe County, Nebraska to George J. Wert and Hazel F. Redman, and baptized in the Methodist Church at Elk Creek, Nebraska. She had one sister, Bonita Nadine Tucker. She lived in Idaho and Oregon before moving back to Nebraska. Roberta married Richard Carman at Camp Howze in Texas on April 5, 1944. A graduate of Peru State College, she taught art in Hamburg, Iowa and Tecumseh, Nebraska public elementary and secondary schools. As a licensed cosmetologist, she operated her own shop in Tecumseh. The couple moved to Wayne in 1951. Roberta was active in Our Redeemer and Our Savior Lutheran churches in Wayne, where she served women’s auxiliary groups. Roberta assisted and led several civic organizations in Wayne, including leadership of the Wayne High Band Boosters for 20 years. She worked several years at the Wayne Care Center in Social Services and as its Activities Director. As a survivor of her personal battle with cancer, her efforts expanded the local network and nationwide fund-raising projects of Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society. She organized interest groups and taught classes in several creative endeavors: ceramics, photography, bridge, gardening and camping. During her early days living in the country, she developed a love for dressage with her favored American Saddlebred chestnut “Tops,” and expanded her equestrian skills through competitive marksmanship events with Richard, both practitioners of the Second Amendment. She also promoted celebrity fan-clubs for several favored entertainers and athletes, including Mickey Gilley and Bart Starr and made no secret of her enjoyment for Husker collegiate athletics.
Another celebrity she cited as influencing her interest in sharpshooting is Wm. F. Cody. From an early age, she recalled, her father George, a hotelier, often hosted Cody and key members of his Wild West troupe, so she carried on a life-long interest in his career, enjoined by several fishing expeditions to his family homestead on the Shoshone River in Wyoming. She was a life-long enthusiast and participant of community bowling leagues, earning recognition and winning team championships with Richard. She and Richard loved traveling across Canada, Mexico and all 50 states.
She was a devoted gamer and competitor, especially the Los Angeles and New York Times crosswords and specialty puzzler editions. Her charity work included knitting hundreds of caps for hospital newborns, and afghans/kitchen cloths/sweaters for distribution through worldwide church social relief agencies. She attained statewide office and recognition in two of her favorite endeavors, wine making and woodworking. One of her greatest interests was serving as a competitor and leader of the Midwest Woodworkers Club for 40 years, attaining a large collection of red, blue, and gold ribbons of first prizes and grand championships.
Survivors include three children, Michael Lynn Carman (MaDonna Carman) of Springfield, Nebraska; Steven Allen Carman (Thomas Magruder), Alexandria, Virginia; and Dawn Melanee Middleton (Alan Middleton) of Windsor, Colorado; two grandchildren: Jennifer (Paul) Broderick and Katherine Middleton; and three great grandchildren: Jocelyn, Xavier, and Gavin.
Roberta and Richard celebrated 70 years of marriage before Richard preceded Roberta in death in 2014.
Pallbearers will be family and friends.
