Roberta Wolford, daughter of Erford Dyer and Bessie Barnum, died from natural causes at her home on December 6, 2020 in Boulder County, CO. She is predeceased by her parents and her husband, Don.
Survivors include her sister, Jackie; her children, Bonnie, Donna, Bruce & Diane, her grandchildren, Jamie, Shawna, Damian, Talia, Alexandria and Ethan; and 5 great-grandchildren, Hunter, Brandon, Aidan, Kaylie and Aidan.
Bobbie grew up in Johnson City, Broome County, New York, and attended Oakdale Elementary and Johnson City High School. She loved spending summers at both of her grandparents farms, Eli Dyer, Ina May Bauder of Johnson City, Broome County, New York; and William Barnum, Ida May Keith of Falls Township, Wyoming, Pennsylvania. Ida May had a large flower garden that Bobbie loved to help with. All four were great to be with during the summer, and Bobbie had nothing but wonderful stories to tell of her times with her grandparent. Her love of vegetable gardens, canning, and growing flowers are traced to her grandparents.
Bobbie met her future husband, Donald Wolford, while attending church summer camps. They dated for several years, and Don joined the Navy in 1942, spending most of the time in the Pacific. During World War II, Bobbie attended classes for airplane identification. Don caught hops on trains and hitchhiked many times to visit Bobbie during the war. When he returned, they married Feb 28,1946 and moved to Tracy Creek, New York. From 1953-55, she was a Girl Scout Leader in Tracy Creek.
Don followed his father's footsteps shortly after and started working at IBM where they moved to Mountain View and Hurley, Ulster County, New York. In 1965, they moved to Boulder when the new IBM plant opened. After 35 years, Don retired from IBM.
In the mid 1970s, Bobbie bought and expanded The Basket Barn, a store in the Cottonwood Square Center, Niwot, CO. Later, a couple years after Don's retirement, she retired, and they spent time traveling around the country with their trailer until Don's death in 1989.
Afterwards, she spent many years volunteering at IBM Boulder Quarter of Century Club where Don had been president for a year. The family would like to thank Cheryl Weaver for helping Bobbie remain in her beloved home until her passing.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, PO Box 1245 Albert Lea, MN 56007.
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