Alice Cecilia Roberts

Alice Cecilia Roberts, died on January 31, 2018 in Deerfield Beach, Florida. She was lovingly and professionally cared for by Trustbridge Hospice for 4 years. While confined to home she was visited by her children, grandchildren and nieces. Her extended friends and family around the country supported her with phone calls and cards. Volunteers from St. Ambrose Catholic Church visited her with prayers and communion. Her neighbors, who were true friends, looked in on her and gave her a sense of safety knowing they were there to help if needed. Thank you to all who loved her and kept in touch with her during her extended end of life journey.

Alice was born in Brooklyn New York in 1923. He father, Gerhard Hagstedt was an immigrant from Sweden. Her mother, Viola Logan, was orphaned as a very young girl. Viola’s parents were both Irish immigrants. Alice’s parents started a lifetime of love of the ocean while spending summers in Rockaway Beach, New York. Throughout her life, Alice shared stories of being a beloved daughter. Her parents were generous to friends and neighbors during to Depression when Gerhard had a steady job with the city of New York Sanitation Department. There was a glass of beer and a hot dog for all on their front porch in summers at their bungalow on the Jamaica Bay in Rockaway. Her father was a great love of Alice’s life. She carried a lifelong sadness due to his death from heart disease before he was able to be a grandfather to her 7 children. She had two brothers, Arthur, who died in a Jeep accident during his army service in the Philippines during WWII and Albert, also a veteran of WWII, who served in the Philippines as well as Japan. Alice was a grateful wife and sister of the greatest generation of America’s servicemen.

Alice fell in love with the brother of her childhood friend, Rita Roberts, when she was a teenager. She and James Roberts corresponded for 4 years while Jim was stationed in Attu, Alaska during WWII. They married while Jim was on leave during the end of his time in service. They had a lifetime of love, and experiences due to Jim’s sense of adventure. They faced life’s challenges and they were comforted in dark times by their Catholic faith. Their first baby, Arthur, died in childbirth. In her last years, Alice was heartened and hopeful to be with her little baby when she passed. Arthur was followed by siblings Patricia, James Patrick, Christine, Brian Timothy, Brendan Thomas, Mary Grace and Noreen Frances.

Alice and Jim raised their children in Flushing, and then Belle Harbor in Rockaway Beach, New York. That family love for the ocean was a great gift to their kids. Relatives and friends visited often for burgers and watermelon on the porch overlooking the Rockaway waves. The boys in the family surfed nearly year- round. Many of Jim and Alice’s kids and grandchildren continue to live on or near the ocean. Several cousins who spent time in Rockaway later found their lives on the ocean as lifeguards, boat captains, long line fisherman and the brokers in the shipping Industry. An Irish uncle of Jim’s was the first captain to sail a Steam ship from Cobh Harbor in Ireland to Boston in the very early 1900’s. Many have said that the Roberts Family has salt water in their blood. A walk on the beach can bring us back to the best times the Roberts family had together.

In 1971 they moved to Florida and landed in Lighthouse Point. They were followed by Jim’s parents Timothy and Mary Roberts and his sister Rose and her husband, Ed, with their 5 children. The family gatherings continued as Jim, the true patriarch of the whole tribe, organized parties and get togethers as often as possible.

Family gatherings included their 12 grandchildren, Brendan, Suzanne, Jimmy, Yana, Benjamin, Patrick, Addie , Matthew, Lynnea, Alice, Cristin and Sean. They opened their hearts to 4 step grandchildren, Ryan, Cristin Joy, Charles and Stephanie. They loved each grandchild and provided fun, food and babysitting whenever they had a chance to spend time with them. She was blessed with 16 great grandchildren.

Jim and Alice took cruises, overseas trips to Ireland and Italy, tons of adventurous day trips to the Everglades, art museums, fairs and community events. They took two cross country trips in their VW pop up camper to visit the country’s national parks and visit their children in Colorado, California and Washington State. They were lifelong members of the Catholic Church.

They were blessed with a handful of lifelong friends, the Sheridans, the Burkes, the Sweeneys, the Obarskis, and the McGraths. They kept in close touch with Jim’s siblings Rita, Finn, Rosemary and Christine and Alice’s brother, Albert. They had many holidays, dinners, picnics at Spanish River Park and countless afternoons on the beach at the old Arvida Beach Club in Boca Raton. They had 23 nieces and nephews who took up a big place in Jim and Alice’s hearts.

Alice volunteered throughout her life, in various settings. She loved to read and was a member of a dedicated and challenging book group for over 20 years. They talked themselves through many classics and shared a love of learning. The book group was such a gift to Alice, the lively discussions and fellowship of group members helped her to continue to grow and learn. The book group was a beautiful example of how to discuss and differ and challenge and learn in a completely safe and civilized way. Alice’s children enjoyed sharing her newly found perspectives on a wide variety of subjects due to her membership in the book group. The group remains a shining example of civility in today’s time. Thank you to all the members through the years.

Alice had a somewhat shy and private personality. She had many amazing qualities. The three that were most evident to those who knew here were her capacity to love, her ability to live in the moment, and her profound ability to listen with compassion to those that she loved. She will be loved, honored and missed deeply.