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Pittsburg County, Oklahoma

Brumley-Mills Funeral Home
25 Apr 2018
Submitted by: Carol Rice

Bernice (Conley) Roberts of Arpelar, 79, was never short on words. She thanked Jesus Christ every morning for giving her another day. She could tell you off one minute and pray for you the next. She enjoyed sharing the story of how she met "Daddy," as she called her husband, Bobby Joe Roberts. She fell in love with that good-looking man when she was only 11 and they married when she was 16 and him 25. He wrote in her letters from Japan while in the Navy in 1954 telling her he was going to come home and give her something to match the sparkle in her eyes. They married on Friday, Jan. 13, 1955, and celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary on Jan. 13, 2017, before he went to heaven on Feb. 19, 2017. They always called 13 their lucky number. One year and 13 days later, she went into labor with their first child. Her last stay in the hospital was on the 13th floor of the Roberts Tower. Today, she is sparkling in heaven with the love of her life dancing and singing following her death at home on April 24, 2018. Services to honor her will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 28, 2018, at the First Baptist Church of McAlester with Brumley-Mills Funeral Home in McAlester in charge of services. Burial will follow at Arpelar Cemetery. Lunch will be served at the church. Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 27, 2018, at the funeral home. She was born to Hasten Otto and Lena Faye (Harwell) Conley on Aug. 3, 1938, in Lamar, Oklahoma. She grew up attending a Pentecostal Holiness Church and was baptized at the First Baptist Church of Stuart as an adult. Before marriage, she worked picking cotton with her parents. Her career was supporting and traveling with Bob for his career in Civil Service, and caring and loving her family, especially her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Bob and Bernice lived in Oklahoma City; Lancaster, Calif.; McAlester; and Arpelar. She is survived by children, daughter Leilani and husband Curtis Ott of Eufaula; daughter Cindy Roberts of Galveston, Texas; and son Frank and wife Tina Roberts of Hempstead, Texas. Their son, Robert Alan Roberts, died in 1989. "Momma," as her children called her, had a close relationship with them. Frank called almost daily especially when he was sick because hearing her voice made him feel better. He will miss those calls where he said, "Hi, Momma," and she would say, "Hi, son." Grandmomma is survived by grandchildren Leigha and Kyle James of Eagle River, Alaska; Clinton Ott of Houston, Texas; Bobby Vaughn of Sallisaw; and Joshaua Roberts, Jamie and Richard Marion, and Jodie Roberts, all of Hobbs, N.M. She also has great-grandchildren that loved singing and dancing for her - Amaya, Braylon and Harmony Ott; Alaina and Gavin James; Emery Hernandez and Felony Roberts; and Faith, Adalyn and Leon Marion. She is survived by sisters Darlene Hickerson of McAlester, and Barbara and husband Dale Kirkland of Shawnee, and brother James and wife Rosanne Conley of Tecumseh. She was preceded in death by her parents, son, and siblings Katheryn Harwell, Patsy Hood and Nathan "Bub" Conley. She is survived by sister-in-law Mary Ellen Conley of Kiowa, and sister-in-law Kathern Roberts of Oklahoma City, many nieces, nephews and friends. Cooking was her talent. Nothing made her happier than to prepare a large feast for her family and friends. Chicken and dumplings, chocolate pie, turkey and dressing, and her famous biscuits and gravy were the best. Her favorite meal to eat out was steak and baked potato from Western Sizzlin'. The staff treated her and Bob like the king and queen. She was addicted to buying jewelry, purses and shoes. She never went out without a ring on every finger and dangling earrings. To her, there is no such thing as too much bling. She loved to travel, which she and Bob did a lot, going from Spain to visit their niece, Ellen Sue Johnson, to taking a cruise around Hawaii. They spent winters in Donna, Texas, where every day was a party, sitting on the back of the pickup truck on the beach watching the waves and shopping in Mexico. They enjoyed celebrating New Year's Eve there with son Frank and wife Tina Roberts, who came to visit. Her granddaughter, Leigha, summed up what many would say: "Grandmomma was the most giving person I know. Because she grew up with so little, she didn't ever want anyone to go hungry. Even on her death bed, she was giving me a $20 bill, saying, 'Don’t let those babies go hungry. Now, you go buy them a cheeseburger and french fries.' She found so much joy in meeting the needs of others. She was the life of the party with her contagious laugh and her free spirit, never knowing a stranger. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind and stand up for what she believed in. That always drew people to her. She always believed in me, supported me and really truly cared about me. When she and I got together, she always asked how I was doing and what was going on in my life? And not like, the hey, how's it going, way? But she would really mean it and wait to hear my response and hang on every word I said. Our relationship was like this for as long as I can remember. Very few people will ever know what it is like to be loved that much. But I do! And it is my joy in life to LOVE like she loved, GIVE like she gave, and LIVE like she lived." The family would like to thank Heartland Hospice of McAlester for their care and compassion.

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