On Sept. 19, 2024, Jesus came to take one of his precious angels on earth with him to her new home. She had been waiting for him for a long time.
Roberta Ellen (Davis) Gapsch was born in Portland, Oregon, March 10, 1925, to Raymond and Thelma (Duncan) Davis. Her brother Milton was born three years later.
Her early years were spent in Portland, but when she entered the second grade they moved to a farm in Warren, Oregon, so they could grow their own food during the Great Depression. She attended elementary school in Warren and high school in Scappoose, graduating in 1943.
She loved living on the farm where she and her brother could swing on a rope into a pile of loose hay or ride her horse, Dandy, in the hills above Scappoose, but the day after her high school graduation, their family moved back to Portland.
After graduation the train whistle passing near her home called to her, and she ventured to California where she found work at an advertising company. When they wouldn’t give her a raise, and her brother Milton came to visit her, she missed home and returned to Portland.
When World War II began, she joined the USO and took part in planning entertainment for the troops. She remembers well when the war was over. There was wild celebrating at the Vancouver Barracks where patients were wheeled out, flat on their backs, so they could participate.
Shortly after the war, she met her forever love, Howard Gapsch, at a dance. They were married on March 10, 1947. They built their own home on farmland in Salmon Creek, Washington. For three months they lived in a 10x10 shack with no running water and an outhouse until their house was finished. She remained on this farm most of her years.
Roberta loved gardening and raising children. After watching “Cheaper by the Dozen” she told Howard she wanted a dozen children, but apparently there’s a movie called “Six is Enough.” She enjoyed sewing, knitting and crocheting for family. She also encouraged her children to pursue music and the arts. During her last months, as various instruments and voices brought her joy, she stated that her best investment was all those music lessons.
During her employment years she worked as a typist at various jobs. After children arrived she was a stay-at-home mom until her youngest entered school and the two oldest entered college, and then she worked for the Vancouver School District as a typist and teachers aide until her retirement.
On Aug. 29, 1999, she lost Howard to cancer, and she lived independently for many years. She moved to Battle Ground, Washington, where she enjoyed walking to Diane’s coffee shop. After about five years she returned home to the farm to be near family.
Throughout her life she was a woman of great Christian faith. By her example and her teaching she passed on that faith to all her children. One of the last questions put to her in a memory book was, “Who do you look up to now and why?” Her written answer was, “The Lord. I’ve had a wonderful life thanks to Him.”
She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard Gapsch; parents, Raymond and Thelma (Duncan) Davis; brother, Milton Davis; mothers- and father-in-law, Gus and Anna (Erstad) Gapsch and Selma (Erstad) Gapsch; grandson Joshua Gapsch; one child; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren delivered to Jesus before birth.
She is survived by her children Nancy Chott (Bill), Alma Beck (Bob), Cathryn Dougherty (Clif), Linda Smith (Jeff), Bob Gapsch (April) and Diane Harris (Scott); 16 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
A memorial celebration will be held on March 8 at Salmon Creek United Methodist Church. Time to be determined. Arrangements are entrusted to Bateman Carroll Funeral Home in Gresham, Oregon.
