Said by many to be a natural-born performer, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Lane Roberts will be remembered for the smiles she put on many faces as close as Lake Orion and as far away as Duck Hill, Mississippi.
Roberts, 17, died last month after a difficult nine-month battle with a heart condition. She was born with a deficiency in her aortic valve, but grandmother Dorothy (Dot) Hall said Lizzie’s difficulties began last May.
She spent nearly a year being hooked to machines and had four surgeries in a 16-hour span in early February. She died while waiting for a heart transplant on Feb. 7.
Roberts had moved from Orion to Mississippi to live with her grandparents, Dorothy and George, in the summer of 2001. Her father, Jeffery, died of a heart attack and her mother Pam died of breast cancer less than six weeks apart in June and July of that year.
Roberts was just 10 years old when she moved in with the Halls.
‘She really grew into a beautiful young lady,? Dorothy said. ‘She loved life.?
Among her many activities, Roberts played the oboe and piano, was in the color guard and was heavily involved with her church (particularly the choir), all while earning a spot on the National Honor Roll and being recognized in Who’s Who of America.
‘There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do in school,? Dorothy recalls, adding that Roberts was just two credits shy of graduation as a senior, in spite of her medical troubles in the final months.
‘It’s just a blank spot in our lives,? she added.
In addition to Roberts? spirit living on with many (Hall estimated about 1,600 people attended the funeral), Dorothy said lives have been saved because of her granddaughter’s insistence on being an organ donor.
‘She has kept four or five people alive, just by being an organ donor,? she noted.
Those in Lake Orion haven’t forgotten about Roberts either, as the Gingellville Community Church will remember her this Friday night with a memorial service.
The church is located at 3920 S. Baldwin Road and the service will begin at 7 p.m.
Because of weather concerns, the Halls will not be able to make the trip, but they know their granddaughter will be there in spirit.
Whether it be Duck Hill Baptist Church or Gingellville Community Church, Roberts always had a second home.
‘She would get to church on Sunday and just sing her heart out,? Dorothy said. ‘She could just perform.?
For more information on Roberts, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/lizzieroberts.
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Gingellville Community Church will hold a memorial service for Lizzie Roberts on Friday, March 7 at 7 p.m. The church is located at 3920 S. Baldwin Road. For more information, contact Nancy Rutledge at (248)464-9336.