Mary Kay Roberts

Mary Kay (Marnie) Molitor Roberts died May 29, 2017 as a result of pulmonary fibrosis and complications after a double lung transplant at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix last August. Despite many setbacks, she struggled valiantly to recover and appreciated the efforts of the transplant team and rehabilitation staff. Her family extends thanks to her lung donor and the donor’s family for their generosity. Thanks to your priceless gift, she was able to breathe freely without oxygen for several months.

Born April 18, 1945 in Minneapolis, Minn., she grew up in Fargo, N.D., attended St. Anthony Grade School and Shanley HS where she played clarinet in the band and was a spirited cheerleader for the Shanley Deacons. After high school she attended Interstate Business College in Fargo and then moved to the Chicago area. In 1965 she married James M. Roberts in Hobart, IN.

After moving to Tucson in 1972, she began nursing studies through Pima College where she earned an R.N. degree. She worked many years at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tucson as an oncology nurse where she was honored as Nurse of the Year. Deciding she needed a break from oncology, she spent several years as a Traveling Nurse in Hollister and Palm Springs, CA. Upon her return to St. Joseph’s, she served as a Case Management Nurse until her health forced an early retirement. Mary Kay’s kindness and sense of humor endeared her to patients and colleagues alike. She dearly loved her chosen profession, her life in the Tucson desert and the stunning views of the Rincon and Catalina ranges that she called “my mountains.”

Her childhood years in Fargo held great memories and despite the distance from Tucson, she made countless trips home. She especially cherished the many summers she spent at a cottage on Lake Melissa in northern Minnesota where she thrived on being near her extensive network of Fargo/Shanley HS friends and escaping the Tucson heat. To Susan Kimball Beving, whose cottage served as home base for several summers, Mary Kay would say "How Fargo of You."

In the 1980s Mary Kay (nee Judith Harriman) began a search for her birth relatives. Finding her birth brother, Patrick (Harriman) Berdan, and his family in Minnesota; and locating her birth mother, Shirley Stasik, and family in Phoenix was life changing for her. These newly discovered family members were a huge source of solace and joy throughout the rest of her life.

She is survived by her three beloved children James, William and Molly Roberts of Tucson; sister Alice Claire Molitor King of Walnut Creek, CA; nieces Amy King of Dallas and Katie Voller-Berdan of Duluth, MN; nephews Ryan King of Walnut Creek, CA and Christopher Berdan of Robbinsdale, MN. Also surviving are half-siblings Chris Stasik Grim, Linda Stasik Wright, Mark Stasik and Paul Stasik of Phoenix, AZ, as well as a bevy of cousins and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents Leonard and Margaret Ryan Molitor; birth father William “Peter” Harriman, who died during WWII service in Europe; birth mother Shirley Benbow Harriman Stasik; birth brother Patrick M. (Harriman)

Berdan, who also died as a result of pulmonary fibrosis; half-brother Rick Stasik; and former husband James (Tex) Roberts.

Special thanks to Carolyn Gould, and RoseAnn and Dave DeHaven who provided so much physical and moral support. And to her “forever Fargo friends” Kathy Schmallen Kidd of Casper, WY and Linda Gertz Johnson of Moorhead, MN for their presence and support at her home in Tucson. Per Mary Kay’s wishes, no funeral is planned. Memorials may be sent to a charity of your choice or www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org.