Ruth Roberts

1925 - 2025

Ruth Roberts
01/21/1925 - 02/23/2025
Ruth Darden Daniel Roberts died February 23, 2025, in Austin, Texas. The daughter of James Arthur Daniel and Martha Eliza Winstead Daniel, Ruth was born January 21, 1925, at home on the family farm in Nash County, North Carolina.

Growing up, Ruth enjoyed swimming in the Tar River behind her house, playing on the high school basketball team, and participating in 4H Club, where she won a competition to compete in a state-wide sewing contest.

Ruth graduated from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now the University of North Carolina at Greensboro) in 1946, with a degree in Home Economics.

Ruth was to married Richard Carey Roberts from 1946 to 1982. During their marriage, they lived in Gilmer and Midland, Texas. She moved to Austin in 2017 to be near her children.

Ruth was the mother who always volunteered to help at her children's schools as well as with their extracurricular activities, including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and the YMCA. When her children moved away from home, she hosted annual summer family reunions at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. With her friends, she traveled the world, played bridge, and attended Midland's theater, music, visual arts, and other cultural events and festivals.

In Midland, Ruth was an active member and officer of the Landman's Auxiliary and the American Association of University Women. She was a founding member of the Midland Society of University Women. She volunteered at the Midland Petroleum Museum and the Museum of the Southwest. Ruth swam several times a week, first at the Doug Russell Pool and later at the COM Aquatics Center, swimming a mile well into her 80s.

A life-long Methodist, Ruth was a member of the First Methodist Church in Midland and later attended Methodist churches in Austin. As a child, she attended Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Wilson County, North Carolina, which was co-founded by the Daniel family in 1804 and where her family continues to be active.

Ruth is survived by her children, Lee Thomson, Jeff Roberts, and Dan Roberts (and wife Caroline); five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. In addition to her parents, she is predeceased by her siblings, Louise Luper, Marie Daniel, Appie Daniel, and Annie Daniel; as well as James and Mary Elizabeth Daniel, who died before she was born.