Mary Karyl Roberts

Karyl Roberts, 78, entered into eternal rest on October 2, 2023. She was a native of New Orleans and a resident of River Ridge, Louisiana. She is preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Earl John Roberts and Mary Kirk Lilly Roberts. She is survived by her beloved life partner, Mitzie Prudeaux; her brother John William (Billy) Roberts (Rhonda Roberts); her nieces Dr. Lyndsay Shipp (Dr. Jay Shipp); Dr. Sydney Murphy; her nephew Jason Roberts (Emmylou Roberts); and her six grand-nieces and four grand-nephews.

Karyl was a graduate of Warren Eastern High School, received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Mississippi College in 1968 and her M. Ed in guidance counseling from Loyola University in 1970.

Karyl liked to say that her career of forty plus years as a respected L. W. Higgins High School counselor was her vocation while her many years remodeling and building houses with her father and various friends served as her avocation. Both shaping and guiding students as well as remodeling and building homes tapped into her stellar talents. Karyl loved turning the proverbial sows’ ears into silk purses.

Her energy exceeded both her vocation and her avocation. Even the breast cancer she survived over thirty years ago did not consume her energy. She belonged to the social group The Gourmets, and along with her partner, established another social group—The Hyde Posse. For many social events, large and small, their home was a hub for a group of career and professional women. Their fellowship provided respite, refreshment, relief, and renewal. Their social gatherings made holidays festive and routine days special.

Karyl enjoyed travel and her weekend retreats, The Laughing Place and Laugh ‘n’ Holler, as well as antiquing, watching TV, seeing a good movie, dining out, and listening to or telling a good yarn. Her hospitality, her intelligence, her attentiveness, her quiet and quick wit, her love left us far too soon.

Karyl was a founding trustee and supporter of the Elaine W. Duvic Scholarship Trust. Donations in Karyl’s memory may be sent to PO Box 236, Westwego LA, 70096.

Family and friends are invited to attend her services at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. in New Orleans, on Saturday, October 14, 2023. Visitation is at 10:00 a.m. and memorial service at 11:00 a.m. in the Lake Lawn Chapel followed by interment at Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum.