Roberta L. Brown, 81

Cancer claimed the life of Roberta L. Brown at Brendan House on May 3, 2011.

She was born at the family home in North Walkerville, Mont., on Feb. 7, 1930, to Olive M. and Robert C. Brown.

She attended Sherman Grade School and, while in first grade, she was injured by a classmate and they later learned she was hard of hearing. She learned to read lips at school and after she graduated she attended and graduated from Butte Business College, where she worked in the office for many years before it was sold and later closed.

After the death of her father, she and her mother moved to Great Falls where she was employed by the Army Engineers until that office had a reduction in force.

She and her mother moved to Columbia Falls for a short time, until she was employed by the U.S. Information Agency in Washington, D.C. She and her mother moved there where her mother later passed away. Roberta worked there for 23 1/2 years until her eyesight began to fail from retinitis pigmentosa. She retired and moved to Columbia Falls to be near family in 1988.

She was an excellent typist and received many commendations for her work. In 1976 she was chosen as Handicapped Worker of the Year in the Press and Publications Service.

Before her eyesight completely failed she enjoyed taking walks, and going to concerts and on old car tours with her family.

She was preceded in death by a baby brother, Robert; her parents; aunts, uncles and cousins who had been from the Butte area, as well as California, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia; and brother-in-law, Allan Quick. 

She is survived by her sister, Dorothy Quick, of Columbia Falls; her niece, Roberta Struck, of Evergreen; and nephew, Dave Quick, of Spokane; as well as cousins, Billie Lu Isaacs and Martha Hirschberg, and their spouses, in San Jose and Morro Bay, Calif., and Barbara Collier of Kentucky; great-nephews, Andrew Struck and Mandie in Santa Ana, Calif., and Geoff Quick and Nicole and little Allan Quick of Spokane; great-nieces, Jenny Rodriguez, and Steve and little Asher, of Madison, Wis., and U.S. Air Force T/Sgt. Lissa Quick who is now in Iraq; as well as extended family, Renee and Randy Riggin, of Spokane.

Graveside services will be held  2 p.m., Monday, May 9, at Woodlawn Cemetery, with Pastor Darrell Newby officiating.

Arrangements are entrusted to Columbia Mortuary.