Jessie Mae (Stoy) Roberts

Jessie Mae Stoy Roberts, longtime resident of Benjamin, TX, passed away April 27, at the age of 97.

Funeral Services will be at 2:00 pm Monday, April 29, at the Benjamin Methodist Church with Tim Trimble and Dennis Duke officiating. Burial will follow at the Benjamin Cemetery under the direction of the Smith Family Funeral Homes, Knox City.

The family will receive friends at a visitation 7:00 to 8:00 pm on Sunday, April 28, at the Smith Funeral Home in Knox City, Texas.

Jessie was born September 6, 1921, to Thomas Jefferson Stoy and Minnie Bernice Selby Stoy. She graduated from Crandall High School. She attended North Texas State Teachers College in Denton, Texas for 2 years. She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Midwestern University in Wichita Falls.

Jessie met Kenneth Roberts while at North Texas and they were married on February 15, 1941, in Crandall, TX. Jessie loved her husband of 72 years; he was her one true love. She also loved her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives, friends, students and her church family.

Jessie was a very busy mother taking care of her five children. She loved teaching school and always said she'd probably do it even if she didn't get paid. She was very active in the PTA as a parent and then as a teacher. She also taught Sunday School for a very long time.

She was a longtime member of the Benjamin Sorosis Club and was instrumental in starting the city wide cleanup campaign sponsored by the club. She had a heart for children and served several years on the Knox County Child Welfare Board. She was a member of Texas Retired Teachers Association, Friends of the Knox County Historical Commission, and various other organizations. She was a longtime member of the Benjamin United Methodist Church.

In retirement Jessie and Kenneth loved to travel, square dance, visit their grandkids, and she loved to paint.

She is survived by her children: daughter, Nancy McGreger and husband Fred of Benjamin; son, Ken and wife Gaye of Wichita Falls; son, Bill and wife Sue of Driftwood; daughter, Pam Duke and husband Dennis of Benjamin; and son Don and wife Diane of O'Brien. Grandchildren: Chris McGreger, Mark Roberts, Kevin Roberts, Rebekah Duke Boone, Jennifer Roberts, Trish Roberts Johnson, Zeke Duke, Rachel Duke Faris and Angela Roberts Patterson. She also has thirteen great grandchildren.

Preceding her in death were her husband Kenneth, her parents, her brother, Arthur Stoy, sisters, Lucy Mings, Bea Parks and Polly Floyd.

The family would like to express their thanks to the staff at the Munday Nursing Center and Hospice of Wichita Falls for their dedicated and loving care of Jessie.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Benjamin United Methodist Church, or to the Wichita Brazos Museum.

Arrangements by Smith Family Funeral Homes, Knox City, TX.