Helen “Roberta” Gambrel, 96, passed from this earth to heaven on November 28, 2020 at Fairhaven Christian Retirement Center in Rockford, IL. She was born in Galesburg, IL on April 13, 1924 to Margret and William Johnson. Roberta married Harold M. Gambrel on June 5, 1947 and had two children, Vere Boyd Gambrel, and Karissa Celeste Poe. She taught music from 1945 – 1977 with the last seventeen years in the Harlem School District. She served as organist at Broadway United Methodist Church for 50 years with her master’s degree on the organ. Roberta will always be remembered for her love of family, music, nature, travel, and her heart for missions locally and around the globe through the United Methodist Church.
Roberta is survived by two sisters, Marion Mundy (Pella, IA), and Doris Hanson (Galesburg, IL); and by her children, Vere Gambrel (Rockford, IL), and Karissa Poe (Bob) (Willmar, MN); two grandchildren, Bobby Poe III (Ann) (Willmar, MN), and Shelli Poe-Walker (Jody) (Brandon, MS), and six great grandchildren, Alison, Samantha, Bobby IV, Henry, Ray, and Sofia.
A celebration of life will be determined at a later time.
