Wendy Blanche Roberson

Wendy Blanche Roberson was famous for saying "there is no such thing as too many books or too much fabric." She had a passion for knowledge and art. She traveled the world to see its beauty and learn about other cultures. She lived a colorful life through her painting, quilting, crafting, and music. Wendy lost her battle with Pancreatic Cancer on November 18, 2023 while holding her daughter's hand.

Wendy was born in New Jersey. As the eldest of five girls (sisters Mindy, Peggy, Penny, and Dinah), she naturally became a caregiver to help her mother, Joanne Watkins. She took great joy in raising her two children, Melanie Luckenbaugh and Ron Peters. After they were both in elementary school, she returned to college to earn her Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education at Clarion University. One of her proudest moments was having her family and children watch her graduate Summa Cum Laude.

Wendy worked a few jobs in the education field, including being a preschool teacher, prior to entering employment with the Commonwealth of PA. She started in the temporary clerical pool and worked her way up to the Bureau of Policy, Analysis, and Planning in the Department of Human Services. She retired after 25 years of public service. 

Wendy married the love of her life, Sinclair Roberson, on December 13, 1997. After divorcing her first husband, Wendy was very nervous about re-entering the dating world. Sinclair asked her out for over two years before she finally agreed to a first date. Their marriage was filled with laughter, love, acceptance, and understanding. Wendy was devastated when Sinclair passed away in September 2004. She honored his memory by maintaining the home they brought together and cheering on Sinclair's beloved New York Yankees.

Wendy's life was filled with amazing friendships. She enjoyed going to scrapbook crops with Rebecca Robey, sharing a meal with Elly Daugherty at Cracker Barrel, or visiting North Carolina with Kerry Strayer. In 2019, she joined the Central Pennsylvania Womyn's Chorus as a Soprano 1 so she could sing with her daughter and make more friendships with talented women.

Wendy often bragged about her amazing children. Her face shinned with pride whenever her daughter Melanie would sing. She spent the last few months of her life excited over Melanie's wedding to Travis Luckenbaugh. She referred to Travis as her son for well over a year - even before he proposed! She adored her son Ron's children - Hailey, David, Karly, and Johnathan. Wendy loved spending Thanksgiving with her "other daughter," Mandy Book and her husband Carson and children Collier and Cameron. But her favorite child was undoubtedly her dog, Mazie. Although her granddog Mae Belle was probably a close second. She loved spoiling those pups.

Wendy loved to travel. She was unafraid of going it alone. She took solo trips to England, Kenya, and South Africa. She also enjoyed traveling with family. She and her daughter went to China to celebrate her retirement. Her last major trip was to Paris with her daughter's future mother-in-law Chris Luckenbaugh. She was planning a trip to the Christmas Markets of Bavaria with Melanie, Travis, and Chris that unfortunately never came to fruition.

Wendy was a prolific artist. Her paintings feature a bold use of color. She enjoyed a wide variety of subject matter, but her favorite were landscapes. She was also gifted with the needle - she made beautiful quilts all of her life and a variety of clothing items. Her house would always have at least three projects in progress crossing different crafts - quilting, knitting, crochet, paper crafting, painting, and more. 

Wendy was also a voracious reader - she never went anywhere without a book. She had custom-built bookshelves installed in her house, but even those large shelves were not big enough to hold her personal library. 

Wendy was quick to help, her smile would light up a room, and her laugh was infectious. The world will be a little bit less colorful without her in it.

If you choose to attend Wendy's memorial service, please dress colorfully - leave the black at home.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Central Pennsylvania Womyn's Chorus at www.cpwchorus.org.