Roberta Ann Uebbing, longtime resident of Palo Alto, died peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, August 26. She was 89.
Roberta was born and raised in Fairmont, Minnesota, the eldest daughter of Robert Flynn, a wholesale grocer, and Anna Flynn, a music teacher.
She had a typical midwestern childhood on Bud Lake Drive, where her house backed onto a lake on which she and her father fished. She attended parochial schools and Fairmont High School before receiving a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Creighton University in Nebraska. She received a master’s in microbiology from the University of Minnesota, after which she moved to Palo Alto to work in the Stanford research laboratory of Halsted Holman.
While attending an event at the Stanford Catholic Alumni Club, she met John Uebbing, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering, whom she married in 1966. Their daughter Mary Frances was born in 1969 and their son Jack in 1970. After a few more years working in the lab, Roberta became a full-time stay-at-home mom. However, she kept busy volunteering at her children’s school, including serving as PTA president.
She was active in the Palo Alto branch of the American Association of University Women and served on its board. When her children were older, she earned a degree in early childhood education and began working at Windmill Nursery School in Portola Valley. She also taught piano and Kindermusik at her home.
Music was one of Roberta’s passions. She was a talented pianist who accompanied school performances, played Christmas carols in church, and performed regularly at the Filoli estate in Woodside. Later in life she volunteered with St. Vincent de Paul, distributing food and helping to provide housing for those in need. She and John also traveled frequently to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Roberta will be remembered for her keen intellect, her dedication to her family and church, and her kind, gentle manner. She is survived by her daughter Mary Frances, son-in-law Lawrence, and granddaughters Flora and Madeline. She was predeceased by her husband, John, and son, Jack.
A funeral Mass will be said for Roberta at Our Lady of the Rosary Church Friday, September 11 at 9:00 AM. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
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