Dora Dell Sandlin Roberts, 78, died on July 4, 2018 at Baptist Village rehabilitation center in Oklahoma City of heart failure. Born in 1939 in Holdenville, OK, Dora’s small town roots proved to be a lasting influence on her socially and professionally. She embraced her southern heritage allowing it to guide her wit, determination, and compassion as an attorney and as an influence on her children and grandchildren. Dora had a gift for storytelling and weaved humor into life lessons. Graduating Oklahoma City University with her BA, Dora followed her father into the legal profession, graduating with her JD from the University of Oklahoma. She would go on to practice law for nearly four decades both in private practice and in the public sector. She believed it was important to be empathetic to the plight of others. Throughout her career, she worked in various prestigious law firms in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. She clerked for the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals and served as Assistant Public Defender for Oklahoma County. Dora retired from the legal profession as a Division Chief with the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. She earned many accolades and honors including admission into the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Dora is survived by her two sons, Shelby and his wife Ingrid, and Hayden and his wife, Sarah and grandchildren, Jackson, Willa, and Owen. She is also survived by her two sisters, Rena Jo Fudge and Martha Sandlin as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Hugh and Rena Jo Sandlin, and William Roberts, her ex-husband and father of her sons. A memorial will be held at Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper Funeral Chapel (6600 Broadway Extension, Oklahoma City) at 11:00 am on Wednesday, July 11. Dora will be buried in Holdenville Cemetery at a later date. The family has asked that memorials in Dora’s memory be sent to Possibilities, Inc, PO Box 60254, Oklahoma City, OK 73146 and Planned Parenthood—Central Oklahoma City, 619 NW 23rd Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73103.
