Wilma Maxine Roe

Wilma Roe, 92, was surrounded by close family when she passed away at her home in Lakewood, Colorado on May 7th, 2018. Wilma is survived by her children Steven, Christopher and Kathleen; her grandchildren Ian, Megan, Kevin, Shannon, Caitlin; and her great granddaughter Annalise. She lived a wonderful life full of hardship, sacrifice, and most of all, family and love.

Wilma was born on March 12th, 1926 in a little town called Fay, Oklahoma. She was the youngest of ten children and one of two sets of twins. She was always cared for and raised by her mother Hattie Mae and her siblings, Orwetta, Oleatha, Clara, Dorothy, Dorris, Eleanor, Evelyn, Willie and her twin brother Willis. Her father Claude also cared for and sacrificed for his wife and children in his work as a farmer. He farmed the land and raised crops to provide for his family during The Great Depression.

In 1929, at the age of three years old, Wilma became part of history as her father and mother made a hard decision to leave their house behind in Oklahoma and move west to California. The children were piled into the flatbed of an old Ford truck to escape The Dust Bowl. Their journey was cut short as Wilma’s mother fell ill and they settled outside of Brighton, Colorado. In later years, Wilma was passionate about education and received her GED after dropping out of school to work with her parents and siblings. She then worked in a factory making artillery shells during World War II and later married her husband Chester Dean Roe on November 25th, 1948.

The stories of her amazing life will be passed down for generations to come and memories of Wilma will always be cherished by her family. Her funeral service will be held at 3:00pm this Thursday, May 17th at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary and Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The service will be shortly followed by a reception at Wilma’s grandson’s house in Denver, Colorado. Flowers are welcome but it is the family’s wish that, if you choose, you can bring a plant to the service so that you can take it home an plant it in her memory.