WHITE STONE—Barbara Powell Roberts, 71, of White Stone passed away on January 7, 2021. Barbara was born to Major Marcus L. Powell Jr. and Katherine C. Spencer Powell on June 12, 1949, in Athens, Greece.
She later lived in Baghdad, Iraq, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Virginia and Georgia. She graduated from Columbus High School in Columbus, Ga., and from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. She met her future husband and best friend, Austin L. Roberts III, at William and Mary and they were married on November 2, 1974.
They lived in Newport News for 16 years, during which time she was in the Junior League of Hampton Roads and participated in many charitable activities, including the founding committee—later chairing—of the Lord Botetourt Affair at the College of William and Mary.
Austin and Barbara were blessed with a son while in Newport News, Austin L. Roberts IV, and moved to the Northern Neck of Virginia in 1990. While in the Northern Neck, Barbara continued her charitable activities by chairing the Rappahannock General Hospital Foundation Board and raising money for Chesapeake Academy and the YMCA while continuing work in events at William and Mary and most recently as a member of the William and Mary Libraries Board.
After her husband’s untimely death, Barbara began to travel, starting in the Caribbean, then Ecuador and the Galapagos, down the Rhine, the Danube, the Mediterranean and the Mississippi. Some other destinations included Florence, Paris, Normandy, London, Cape Verde, Senegal, Lisbon, Greece and Ireland. She was forced to return early from Luxor, Egypt, this past March due to COVID-19. From snorkeling in the Galapagos to hiking with sheep in the hills of Ireland and Greece, visiting the beach where her father had landed in the first wave of D-Day, or riding a camel, she enjoyed all parts of her travels, especially meeting new friends.
Barbara is survived by her son, Austin L. Roberts IV (Michelle); her sisters, Sandra P. Holden (Pete) and Katherine P. Rhine (Greg); her brother, Robert S. Powell (Phyllis); nieces and great-nieces and great-nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, January 17, 2021, at Irvington Baptist Church, Irvington. Also due to the pandemic, if you are unable to attend the service, it will be streamed live by going to the Irvington Baptist Church webpage (www.irvingtonbaptistchurchva.org) and click on the link to “Facebook Live.”
In lieu of flowers, donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, pancan.org/donate or 1500 Rosecrans Ave., Suite 200, Manhattan, CA 90266 or to the National D- Day Memorial, P. O. Box 77, Bedford, VA 24523.
Currie Funeral Home LLC of Kilmarnock handled the arrangements.
