Roberta Jean Tischer

Roberta (Bobbie) Jean Tischer was called to her Savior, Jesus Christ, in her Sarasota, Florida home peacefully, in her sleep, during the early morning hours of Wednesday, August 14, 2024. She was born Roberta Jean Harter on October 2, 1942 in Grafton, West Virginia to her mother Arlene Harter and father Jean Harter.

Bobbie graduated from Grafton High School in 1960 and attended Alderson Broaddus Baptist College in Philippi, West Virginia, graduating in 1965 with a BA in religious studies and a BS in Nursing. She worked as a Psychiatric Nurse at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC where she married Gene Tischer in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Georgetown, DC. on June 1, 1968. In 1971 she entered Catholic University and graduated in 1972 with a MS degree in Psychiatric Nursing.

At this time, Bobbie moved to Miami and went to work at the Miami VA Hospital as a counselor in death and dying. After three years Bobbie went to work for a local home health agency. In 1975 she moved to Orlando where she became a full time mother to beloved sons Jason and Tanner. In 1980 she moved to Sarasota where, in 1985 she became the Director of Religious Education at Incarnation Church for three years. She then returned to working in home health care for several years. Her last job was working at Wilkinson Elementary School as a reading teacher for Pre-K and Kindergarteners for 10 years. Her final stop was volunteering at Stillpoint Mission in Bradenton, Florida for more than a decade, until her cancer caught up to her and, to her great disappointment, she had to stop.

Bobbie loved the children and the poor. Throughout her life she happily contributed her time and talent to serving these folks with love, tenderness and respect that was always immediately acknowledged and returned back to her, as she would say, “in spades.” She played tennis, enjoyed TV comedies (as long as they were “clean”), any documentary on animals --especially birds, EWTN (especially Life of the Saints), and liked to take the occasional cruise. For 32 years Bobbie and her husband Gene got together with Sonny and Valerie Fagan to play the game “Catch Phrase” every Saturday afternoon. It was usually the social highlight of the week for her.

Bobbie is survived by her husband of 56 years, Gene, her two sons Jason and Tanner, her grandson Killian and his mother Erica Stelzer, her sister Heather Hise of Tulsa, OK and her brother Mark Harter of Oklahoma City.

A Celebration of Life to honor Bobbie will be held at the Church of St. Patrick’s, Sarasota, FL on Saturday, September 28 at 10:30 AM with internment in St. Patrick’s Memorial Garden. A luncheon will follow in the St. Patrick’s parish center. If you would like to attend the luncheon please RSVP by email to [email protected] so we can plan for the needed food. Thank you.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Stillpoint Mission, either online --www.stillpointmission.org -- or by check to Stillpoint Mission, P.O.Box 619, Bradenton, FL 34205.

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