Roberta Porter

Roberta Porter was born December 29, 1930, in Montgomery, Alabama to the late Willie H. Ross and Willie Mae Ross, the second of nine siblings. After running life's good race for 91 years, God called Roberta home to her eternal rest peacefully on Saturday, October 22, 2022.
Roberta accepted Christ at an early age and was baptized at Mitylane Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. She received her early childhood and middle school education at Peoples' Village School, a one-room schoolhouse in Mount Meigs, Alabama. Roberta missed a lot of time from school because she was needed to work in the cotton fields on McLemore Plantation to help support her family. After growing weary of attending school with lots of students who were much younger than her and missing many school days due to being pulled out to pick cotton and falling behind, Roberta only attended Peoples' Village through the 8th grade.
Although Roberta would often express regret for only having an 8th grade education, Roberta's formal education and early life of hard work in the cotton fields laid the foundation of Roberta's strong work ethic, strengthened her ability to stretch a dollar and save money for a rainy day, and sparked a deep determination to build a better and more thriving life for herself and her family. If she had a college degree, Roberta could have easily been the Chief Financial Officer for any Fortune 500 Company.
Roberta was united in holy matrimony to the late Willie J. Porter in 1948. Into this marital union, Roberta was blessed with two beautiful daughters. The late Janie Roberta who was born in 1951, sadly passed away a few short days after her birth. One year later, in 1952, God blessed Willie and Roberta with a second daughter, Linda Inez.
After growing tired and weary of picking cotton day in and day out and needing a change in her environment after losing her baby, Roberta wrote three separate letters to relatives who resided in Detroit, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois, and Wilmington, Delaware. Her hope was for a door to open to a new beginning. Her sister-in-law Rose Hall in Delaware told the newlyweds to "Come On" so in 1952 Willie and Roberta set out for their big move up North to Delaware. Due to Jim Crow Laws at the time, they were forced to ride most of their journey standing up on the bus.
Roberta worked as a domestic worker for over 30 years, cleaning the homes of wealthy Caucasian families, as well as cleaning offices for the Dupont Company and a local lawyer. Roberta always took great pride in her work and would take mental notes of how the "rich" decorated their homes, and she would replicate their "style" in her home on her budget. Roberta was always known for keeping a spotless, beautifully decorated house. Friends would sometimes joke "Roberta we can eat food off of your immaculate floors!". There were others who would prod and say "Roberta, how are you going to be able to pay for your house just doing domestic work?", to which she would reply "I don't know how I'm going to do it, but me and the good Lord are going to give it a try". Roberta's house has been paid in full for many years, prior to the 30-year mortgage reaching maturity. At the time of her passing she had proudly resided in her home for 64 years.
It's not easy to summarize all of Roberta's 91 years in a few sentences but a few things highlight the core of who she was and the legacy she leaves us.
Roberta was a caring and devoted daughter, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, auntie, confidante, and a faithful friend. She loved the Lord and relied on her fervent prayers to God to guide and lead her life. She was one of the first persons to join Union Baptist Church, when the church moved from Claymont, Delaware, to the new building location on 26th and Pine Street. Roberta was a dedicated Missionary and enjoyed many outings with her Christian sisters, serving both inside the church and out in the community.
Over the span of her life Roberta enjoyed traveling, paying her bills on time, sewing clothing and home décor (curtains, blankets, and pillows), and giving away her prized handiwork (tissue boxes and her famous plastic bag holders, amongst many other things), tending to her garden each season, planting flowers and vegetables Truth be told she had one of the best-looking yards on 26th street...
excellent curb appeal! If you ever ate any of her food, you would know that she cooked a mean pot roast with potatoes, a savory dish of macaroni and cheese and a shut your mouth good southern style potato salad. She also enjoyed shopping at Goodwill and yard sales and spending time at the Wilmington Senior Center, where she was on a Wii bowling team with her long-time friend Mrs. Virginia Herring. Being a top bowler always brought her great joy. Most of all, Roberta enjoyed spending countless hours with her daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was so proud of them and all their accomplishments that she was able to personally witness.
Roberta was preceded in death by her parents, one daughter, her loving granddaughter Ania Lynn Moss (to whom she proudly devoted her time serving as a loving grandmother and caretaker during Ania's illness), siblings Willie Ross Jr; Jeff Ross; Elijah Ross; Martha Ross; and Vilma Reed.
her memory and to rejoice in her "Homegoing", a faithful daughter Linda Nix (Dr. Sheldon); son-in-love Deacon Carlton Moss, Sr; two grandchildren: Carlton Moss, Jr (Marla), Tishena Moss; two great- grandchildren: Carlton Moss III, Lillian Moss; brothers: Henry Ross (Lovey) and John Lee Ross; and sisters Hattie Mae Williams, Dorothy Langford (Roy); loving in-law Ethel Moss, special friends Virginia Herring, Irene Pulliam, Arabella Stallings, Timothy and Veronica Wright, Shirelle Hogans, Irene Holloway, Mable Russ and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and special friends too abundant to list.
Roberta was indeed a blessed and highly favored woman of God, much beloved by her family and many friends. Well done, Roberta, thou good and faithful servant, thou good and faithful mother, thou good and faithful grandmother, thou good and faithful sister and friend.