©Gaylord Herald Times 2001
Roberta Lee Green, 54, of Gaylord, died Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2001.
Mrs. Green was born May 21, 1947 in Grayling and was raised in the Gaylord area. She was a graduate of Gaylord High School and continued her education at Graceland college in Lamoni, Iowa, where she received her bachelor of science degree.
After college she returned to the Gaylord area. She had worked for the Gaylord Community Center before beginning her teaching career at Vanderbilt high School in 1975. She taught English, health and physical education. She was involved with the yearbook, journalism class and the newspaper. She was a class sponsor several years and also coached basketball, volleyball and softball.
She was a member of the Community of Christ Church, where she played organ and piano.
Funeral services will be held Monday, Nov. 26 at 5 p.m. from the Nelson Funeral Home. Visitation will be held today (Saturday) from 6 to 8 p.m., Sunday from 1 to 8 p.m., and Monday from 2 p.m. until the time of services.
Mrs. Green is survived by her son, Michael (Dawn) of Saginaw; granddaughter, Aurora; mother, Lydia Sewell of Gaylord; sister, Linda L. Shindler of Wheaton, Mo.; brothers, Russel W. (Judy) Sewell of Independence, Mo. and Richard D. (Judi) Sewell of Gulfport. Miss.; the father of Michael, Melvin Green of Gaylord; and her beloved pet, Sandy.
Mrs. Green was preceded in death by her father, Warren Sewell, and her brother, Charles Laymon Sewell III.
By Michael Jones
Staff Writer - Gaylord Herald Times
©Gaylord Herald Times 2001
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VANDERBILT - Students and staff at Vanderbilt Area School (VAS), as well as the Vanderbilt community, were saddened to learn of the sudden death of longtime Vanderbilt teacher Roberta Green. Green apparently died in her sleep sometime Wednesday morning at her mother's home in Gaylord.
Green, who was 54, in education for 27 years, taught 25 years at Vanderbilt. Stuart Clark, VAS teacher and athletic director who had worked for many years with Green, said Green began her teaching career in the Atlanta School District, where she taught for two years before beginning a long and distinguished career at Vanderbilt.
Ellen Bonter, superintendent at VAS, said Green was an integral part of the Vanderbilt school family. "She will be hard to replace, I don't know if she can even be replaced; she was that kind of person." Bonter said Green was a well-rounded teacher and had taught at all grade levels this year, including journalism, yearbook, language arts, health and elementary physical education.
According to Clark, Green, who was born and raised in Gaylord, graduated from a small college in Iowa with a degree in English and health. "Roberta was a pillar of the school," said Clark. "She was one of those people who had a whole bank of sick days built up and rarely missed a day of school." |
Clark said when Green hadn't shown up for work Wednesday morning her students knew right away something was different. "The students started right in -- "Where's Mrs. Green? Is she going to be here today?' The kids are really going to miss her."
While at Vanderbilt Green was involved in all facets of the school. "Roberta coached girls basketball, softball and was the first volleyball coach when it was added as a sport here. Except for the last five years, I believe she was involved in school sports, either as a coach or in some other capacity," noted Clark.
"Her first love, though, was her work with the yearbook, which she did for all of the years she was here. I remember she spent a good part of each summer at the school working on it, fine tuning, making it as good as it could be," said Clark, who added Green was the unofficial school photographer, taking pictures for all of the games and other school activities.
Principal Sue Paquin was impressed with Green's involvement with her students and the impact she has had on countless VAS students. "I know she touched the lives of many, many students over the years. She is going to be missed very much."
Clark observed Green was noted for her, "dry sense of humor. If you didn't watch out, she could get you real quick with a zinger. She played the organ at her church and was a fanatical pinochle player -- which she learned from her parents. She loved board games and taught her students to play cribbage. It was kind of a sneaky way to teach them math," continued Clark. "The kids didn't figure out they were learning math while playing cribbage in her classroom.
"She even taught line dancing to her students," concluded Clark. "There were just so many things she was involved with here, it's hard to keep track of them all. Teaching and the kids here were her life."
Green is survived by a son, Mike, who lives in the Saginaw area with his wife and Green's only grandchild. Services will be Monday at 5 p.m. from the Nelson Funeral Home. A complete obituary appears on p. A12. |
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