Ardith Roberts

On January 23, 2021 Ardith Dolores Roberts flew away to rejoin her true love, she suffered a sudden heart attack, but truly had suffered from a broken heart since the day that Jack Roberts had to leave her in 2016. Ardith was born on April Fool’s day in 1926 to Ed and Selma Young in the family home in Pear Park. She attended schools in the Grand Junction area but was especially proud and excited to join Ms. Chatfield’s first grade class at Pear Park. She graduated from Grand Junction High School in 1943.
She had known Jack Roberts from friends and school, even playing a softball game against each other's teams once-she played to win, not to impress that boy. But in 1944 she was his sweetheart and he was in the Air Force getting ready for his service in the European theatre in World War II. He was granted an emergency leave because his mother became very ill in the summer. Fortunately, his mother recovered and it gave the young sweethearts a chance to go to the picnic and fireworks at Lincoln park. Jack chose this celebration to pop the question, she said “Yes”, and they married two days later on July 6 at the First Methodist Church in Grand Junction. This began their lifetime of love lasting 71 years, and other than the time that Jack was away for the war, they were always together.
Ardith and Jack built their life and family together and always loved and supported each other through both the good and the difficult times. After the war they spent several years working farms in the Fruita area and this is where they also grew their family. Dan was born in 1946 and Connie joined the family in 1951.
Ardith worked at jobs in retail and hospitality during her life, including an attendant job at “Ma Bell”, but her main achievement and passion was her family. She believed one of the best ways to show her love was by feeding people, and it did no good to tell her you weren’t hungry. No matter the size of the home and property Jack and Ardith lived on there was always a garden of vegetables and flowers. She spent late summer days canning and freezing so that her family always had some of her love with even their winter meals. Connie never went without a pretty new dress because her mom would sew her one, along with anything else they needed.
Later in life she gained yet another prized title, Grammy. She loved her grandchildren wholly and unconditionally. Never missing a school program or game, always proud and always present. And the friends that came with them were always included and treated as just an extra grandchild. Perhaps her reward for being such a wonderful mom and grandma was the reward of getting to meet and love her great-grandchildren. They will be forever better for knowing her and having her love.
Retirement time brought more time together for Jack and Ardith. They had a boat and an RV that they spent time enjoying from Colorado to California and everywhere in between. They took a lifetime trip to Alaska and came back with stories and pictures galore.
But there are always challenges to go along with all the blessings. They lost an angel baby between the birth of Dan and Connie. Dan became ill and came home for his mom and dad to care for him before his passing in 1992. It was the ultimate representation of their love for family to both see him into and out of this world. In 2016 Jack became ill and passed, again with Ardith taking care of him at home. Not a day went by since then that Ardith did not miss him and wish to have him hold her again.
Her sister Verla Schafer survives her and will struggle to go on without her little sister by her side. There will never be another Grammy for her grandchildren Tanya (Rory) Cornelison, Andrew McNew, and Tasha (Warren) McNew, or her great-grandchildren, Izabella and Nataleigh Cornelison. And we can’t
forget her extra borrowed grandchild, Joyce Adamson, whom she loved like one of her own. She will be missed and remembered forever.
The family will have a private service. In lieu of flowers and to honor the way she showed her love, please consider a memorial contribution to Western Slope Food Bank of the Rockies, P.O. Box 416, Palisade, CO 81526, she would want others to have as much as she was able to have.