Edna Roberts, 98, formerly of Killeen, died of natural causes on Jan. 15, 2021 at the Lampasas Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
Edna Alvina Radke Roberts was born to Harry and Emma Radke on Nov. 7, 1922 in Brandon, Texas, about 10 miles east of Hillsboro. Edna was the youngest of six siblings.
She remembered that her father would read the Bible to his family as she grew up. She believed this is what drew her to God. She received salvation as a teenager and attended Southwestern Assemblies of God College in Waxahachie. There, she met Odell Roberts, and they were married on June 24, 1948. Together they began a lifetime of service to God.
The Robertses served congregations in Melrose, New Mexico, and in Texas at Ennis and Lampasas, before taking their family to the Philippines as missionaries. When they returned from Manila in 1963, they founded Bethel Temple Assembly of God in Killeen.
Edna worked as a librarian at Killeen High School and established the library at Ellison High School. She worked for the Killeen Independent School District for 26 years.
In 1990, the Robertses resigned as pastors of Bethel Temple and moved to Waxahachie, where Edna became the librarian at SAGC. In 2001, they returned to the Killeen area.
Edna was preceded in death by her husband, Odell; her brother, Edgar Radke; and sisters Stella Degner, Juanita Schulze and Erelene Neumann.
She is survived by her sister Esther Vess of Waxahachie; her children Vicki Proffit of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Stephen Roberts of Lampasas, and Grace Deorsam Curtis of Harker Heights; 12 grandchildren, 27 greatgrandchildren; and four greatgreat-grandchildren.
Donations may be made in Edna’s name to New Beginnings Church, 859 Copperhead Circle, Harker Heights, TX 76548, designated “Missions,” or to Sarah’s Home, which is for rescued, sex-trafficked girls, at P.O. Box 29, Peyton, CO 80831.
