Roberta Maxine Leverton

Roberta Maxine (Russell) Leverton, 89, died on March 27, 2020 in Norman, OK of Alzheimer's disease. She was born February 10, 1931, to John and Bessie Russell in a farmhouse near Foss, OK. The youngest of three daughters, she had six brothers.
She attended school in Thomas, OK and Burns Flat, OK where she met her high school sweetheart, Elvin Leverton. Both played basketball at Burns Flat High.
They eloped to Wheeler, TX on August 31, 1946, borrowing a 1939 Plymouth from Elvin's brother Hershel. They were married 62 years, deeply devoted to each other. People commented about their amazing love. One friend said theirs was a match made in heaven.
They grew wheat and cotton and raised Angus cattle. Elvin taught Roberta to drive a tractor and they enjoyed working together, each one driving from opposite sides of a field and meeting in the middle to complete the job. They were named Farm Family of the Year in 1960, the first year the award was given in Washita County. They retired in 2001.
Growing up in a family of nine children, Roberta learned the value of work. Always a hard worker, she thrived on activity. It was hard for her to sit down. She was very organized and her home was always spotlessly clean, even while doing farm labor.
Roberta was kind, generous and a loyal friend. A lifelong Christian, she enjoyed doing things for others and was an example of love and work ethic to all who knew her. She was an outstanding cook who exercised her gracious gift of hospitality by cooking for family and friends. In 2014 she baked 95 lemon pound cakes to give to friends on birthdays.
Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in early 2015, she made the difficult decision to leave her Burns Flat home because of fading memory. She moved to an assisted living center in Oklahoma City to be near her daughter and family. She lived across the hall from her aunt Edith Melvin who was only 10 years older than Roberta.
When family and friends visited in her declining years, Roberta smiled and kissed their hand. No longer able to stand and hug due to breaking her hip in 2018, she still expressed love.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Elvin; her oldest sister Colleen Russell (who died when Roberta was two); parents John and Bessie Russell; brothers Bud Russell, Kenneth Russell, Gordon Russell, Dean Russell and Jack Russell; her sister Agnes Adams; Edith Melvin of Elk City, OK and many other aunts and uncles.
She is survived by her brother, Frank Russell of Cordell, OK; her daughter Barbara Nesbitt and husband Weldon of Norman, OK; grandson Jonathan Nesbitt and wife Heather of Wylie, TX; great granddaughters Grace and Kate Nesbitt of Norman, OK; grandson Greg Nesbitt and wife Andrea, and great grandchildren Collin, Hope and Parker Nesbitt, all of Purcell, OK; sisters-in-law Vineta Russell of Duncan, OK, Eudora Leverton of Las Vegas, NV and numerous nieces and nephews.
Due to the coronavirus and prohibiting of crowds, there will be a small, private graveside service. There will be no public viewing at the funeral home. A memorial service is planned for a later time.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Burns Flat Church of Christ.