Farewell to a Beloved Sister

We lost my older sister this morning.  It was unexpected and a shock.  She had a severe heart attack on Sunday night and was in the ICU getting care.  But half her heart was too damaged and she passed away at 3 am this morning.  She was such a positive and happy person and we did so much together.  She will be missed.

She and I shared the love of adventure and water and each had our own Sunfish sailboats.  Our family all got on board and we had 6 in our little fleet.  This is Roberta with her only granddaughter, Ava.

There were 4 of us, twins Robert and Roberta, then me, and Denise the youngest.

If you want to hear all about her, I'm including the obituary I spent the day writing and researching the dates and details.

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Roberta Lea Shaklee Mills passed away on July 24, 2019 surrounded by her beloved husband Teddy and sons Cliff and Derrick.  She was 76 years old.  She had a severe heart attack late on Sunday night and was in the care of the ICU at Kaiser Sunnyside Hospital.

Roberta was born in Watonga Hospital in Oklahoma on September 27, 1942 to Betty Lea Woldridge Shaklee and Wallace Winston Shaklee.  Her beloved twin brother Robert Shaklee was born first and she was born second.  They were the first 2 of 4 children.

Roberta and her mom, dad and 6 week old baby Teresa were in their 2 room house in Oklahoma when it was hit by a tornado when she was 6 years old.  The house was blown over and demolished while they were inside and they were rescued by the bravery of their father, Wally.  

Roberta and her family lived in Watonga, Oklahoma until she was 12 years old when the family moved to Oregon in 1953 to start a new life.  

Roberta was very proud of being tapped by the National Honor Society in HS.  She was on the cheerleading squad, the song team and was elected Homecoming Queen in her senior year at McMinnville High School.  Her positive attitude and perky personality made her fun to be around.

She met Teddy Mills when she was 18, they fell in love and got married in the family home in McMinnville on November 17, 1961.  Roberta enjoyed raising her two sons and served as their Cub Scout leader.

Roberta began working at The Oregonian in the Classified Ad department, Teddy worked in the mail room.  Her father was The Oregonian distributer in McMinnville when his children were young, her brother Robert worked at “The O” while attending college at PSU, her sister Teresa worked in Ad Service and both of her sons worked in the mail room.

When Roberta retired, she began many years of service, volunteering in many organizations, serving as president, treasurer and board member and volunteer of many groups.  Her first was with the Milwaukie Historical Society.  Then she joined the Milwaukie Garden Club which she was with for decades.

Roberta volunteered for the Friends of Vista House while her sister Teresa was the Executive Director there in the 1980s. She was a charter member of the Friends of Multnomah Falls and volunteered in the Visitors Center.  

Roberta found out from her Uncle Bill Shaklee that she was eligible to join the Daughters of the American Revolution and joined Portland Chapter NSDAR in 1999. When she was filling out her papers to join she encouraged her sister Teresa to join with her, which she did.  They were dedicated DAR members for 2 decades, serving in many offices - Roberta was Regent (president) of Portland Chapter followed by her sister serving in the position.  They attended the DAR Continental Congress in Washington DC on 2 occasions.  While in DC they visited Shaklee family in Annapolis and went on to visit Nantucket where they found they descend from the founding owners of the Island, via Tristram Coffin, and stayed in their ancestor Jared Coffin House while there.  The offices she held in DAR are as follows.  Chapter Treasurer May 2015-May 2017, District 1 Director  Jul 2010-Jun 2012, Chapter Honorary Regent Jan 2007, Chapter Regent Jun 2005-Jul 2007, Chapter Vice Regent May 2003-Jun 2005

Roberta and Teddy have attended annual Oregonian Retirees group luncheons since their retirement.  Roberta also joined the Red Hat Society and attended luncheons and outings with them. Roberta also organized many McMinnville High Graduation Class of 1960 luncheons and meetings over the years.

Roberta and  Teddy enjoyed going to car shows and cruise-ins, winning awards and trophies with his beloved yellow and black racing striped 1969 Mach 1 Mustang.  They also joined a Mall Walkers group and made many new friends there.

Roberta’s sister Teresa joined the Portland Women’s Forum association who saved the famous viewpoint from being privately developed. Roberta and sister Denise also joined and the three sisters enjoyed attending meetings together for several years.

Roberta was always an amazing, beautiful and fashionable lady who made friends wherever she went.  She was active until the end, canoeing, camping, sailing and traveling.

30 years ago, Roberta found Waldo Lake, a place for her siblings and their children to camp.  Each year all four of the siblings, spouses, children and grandchildren and friends would travel to the lake and have a family reunion while camping for a few weeks, canoeing, sailing her beloved Sunfish sailboat with her siblings, a fleet of 6 sailboats between them. She loved swimming in “Amy’s Blue Lagoon”.   

Roberta bought a lot at Fishhawk Lake and had a beautiful house built where she would invite her friends and family to come and stay.  She decorated it in rustic lake style and Teddy and she would go there to enjoy several days many times during the year.  

Roberta is survived by her husband Teddy, twin brother Robert Shaklee, sisters Teresa Shaklee Kasner, Denise Shaklee Hawke, sons Derrick and his wife Tish and Cliff Mills and his wife Tami, grandchildren Ava Mills and Kyle Blair, his wife Christy and great-grandson Richard Blair.
She was preceded in death by both parents.