Roberta Dorothy Lukes

LUKES, ROBERTA DOROTHY, 48, of Arlington, MA, died June 15, 2009, at Sawtelle Family Hospice House in Reading, MA, after a long illness. She was born in Erie, PA, daughter of Robert and Mary Lukes. She is survived by her husband, Michael Tsuk; her parents; her sisters, Anita Goetz of Louisville, Christina Morris of Indianapolis, IN and Marguerite Lukes of Brooklyn, NY. She was preceded in death by her sister, Stephanie Stone; and her brother, Anthony Lukes. Roberta was a graduate of Waggener High School in Louisville, where she was a student in the Advanced Program, member of the National Honor Society, and a National Merit Scholar. She had joined the Louisville Youth Orchestra while in the seventh grade, and advanced to first chair violist in her junior year of high school. In her senior year, she was hired as a violist in the Louisville Orchestra. She attended the Interlochen Music Academy summer program for two summers while in high school. She attended the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana as a music major, graduating in 1984. While at the University of Illinois, she was named the Presser Scholar in 1983 and upon her graduation in 1984, she was awarded University Honors and Bronze Tablet for her academic excellence. She then entered the graduate school at Harvard University to further her studies in musicology. She was awarded the degree Master of Arts in 1989, and the degree Doctor of Philosophy in 1996; both degrees were in musicology. While at Harvard, she taught in the music department as a teaching assistant. Roberta Lukes and Michael Tsuk were married on June 17, 1990 in the Memorial Church at Harvard University. Throughout their marriage, they resided in Arlington. She had many interests other than music and musicology. During graduate school, she was a volunteer tutor for the Eastern Massachusetts Literacy Council (now English At Large), providing one-on-one training instruction in basic reading and in English as a second language. She became the director of training and technology for the EMLC, and eventually created a private practice for aiding children with learning disabilities to improve their reading skills. She was also an artist, painting in watercolors, studying under Marjorie Glick of Boston, MA. She was an avid gardener and enjoyed hiking, canoeing and sailing. Roberta requested her body be donated to the Harvard University Medical School. A memorial service will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, June 27, 2009, at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, 7813 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, with a reception following in the church hospitality room 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Expressions of sympathy in her memory may go to English At Large, 400 High Street, Medford, MA 02155 or to the Louisville Youth Orchestra, PO Box 997, Louisville, KY, 40201-0997.