Roberta Smith Duvall

Roberta Smith Duvall died peacefully on April 20, 2012 at age 75. She was in the home she loved with her family by her side. The cause of death was Ocular Melanoma cancer of the liver. Roberta (Bobbie to most of us) grew up in Pocatello, Idaho. She attended the University of Utah earning her degree in English Literature and spent the next two years as a graduate student and instructor studying medieval history, a subject that held her interest for life.After marrying Bill Duvall in 1960, she moved to Pittsburgh, PA where she taught at a Catholic girls school and where her two children were born. She was active with the school system in Roseburg, OR during the 12 years the family lived there and with the Mercer Island schools until her children graduated.During the last 35 years living in the Seattle area on Mercer Island, she learned the joys of hiking in the Cascades and sailing Lake Washington and Puget Sound. She taught her husband the pleasures of the Symphony orchestra, piano and string quartet concerts, and particularly the Opera. An avid and discriminating reader, she loved to discuss books and current political issues. She also loved to travel leading friends and family to historical sites and cathedrals in Europe and ancient ruins in many parts of the world. In addition to her husband, Bobbie is survived by her daughter Cathy Duvall and granddaughter Emerson who are living in Washington D.C. and son Mark Duvall, his wife Lee and granddaughter Addison living in Menlo Park, CA. We all will miss her. A celebration of her life is being planned. Memorials in lieu of flowers might be made to the Seattle Opera or another organization of your choice.