Obituary of Mary Lysbeth Roberts

On Friday, October 16, 2020, Mary Lysbeth Roberts passed away at the age of 71, surrounded by her two daughters.

Mary was born in Bridgeton, NJ to Margaret and Thomas Roberts. After graduating from Bridgeton High School, she attended Montclair State University and graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in Education. Following a short time in San Antonio, she moved to Chapel Hill in 1975. She earned a Master of Public Health in Maternal & Child Health and a Master of Education in Pre-School & Special Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1988. During this time, she worked at UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center. In 1989, she began working for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools as Director of Community Schools, where she led the district’s after-school and summer youth enrichment programs. She served on the North Carolina School-Age Care Coalition Governing Board from 1995-2002. Her passion for and dedication to early childhood development drove her professional contributions, and she retired in June 2016, after 30 years of service to the State of North Carolina.

Above all, Mary was a devoted mother. She treasured her daughters and her role as Grandma. She taught by example how to be fair, honest, caring and independent. She loved to garden, cook and bake, especially around the holidays. In recent years, she enjoyed time with SECU Family House, Silver Connections and University Women’s Club.

She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Melissa and Craig Kotrys of Phoenix, AZ, and Meredith and Matthew Williams of Denver, CO, her grandchildren, Calvin and Elaine Kotrys, her siblings and their spouses, Margaret and Kent Crenshaw, Martha and Larry Colen, Thomas Roberts and Pamela Gordon, Marilyn and Brewster Chase, Richard and Susan Roberts and her many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Margaret and Thomas.

Mary will be laid to rest at Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery. A memorial service will be held in 2021 to celebrate her life.

A scholarship has been established in Mary’s name at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro (CHC) Public School Foundation, to support students in after-school and summer enrichment programs. If you would like to donate, please visit www.publicschoolfoundation.org/donate, choose “Other” and type “Mary Roberts” in the comments field. You may also mail a check to: CHC Public School Foundation, P.O. Box 877, Carrboro, NC 27510 (write “Mary Roberts” in memo line).

The Roberts family is under the care of Walker's Funeral Home of Chapel Hill.