Roberta Patten

Roberta Hunter- Patten was born on October 12, 1954, in Chicago, Illinois, to Edmund and Virginia Hunter. She was born of the Dischiin clan, born to the Ch’ilniihye nadn’ aiye. She was the seventh of nine children.

There were many stories the Hunter girls talked about their childhood in Chicago, but one of the funniest was when Roberta and Linda were walking to school on a cold snowy day, and to get out of going to school, they splashed icy cold water on their clothes. They returned home and told their mother they fell in the water, but mom made them change their clothes and go right back to school! Roberta also loved going to the Navy pier, to stare at all the sailors. After many years in the big city, the Hunter family moved back to Arizona in 1962. Roberta attended Rice Elementary, then East Globe, followed by Globe Jr. High then graduating from Globe High School in 1972.

After graduation, Roberta enrolled at Northern Arizona University. She would spend her summers working as a Secretary for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Forestry Department. She would graduate with a degree in education in 1977. Roberta moved back to Peridot and her first teaching job was at Rice Elementary as a second-grade teacher. This was the beginning of a very successful and fulfilling career in teaching.

In the spring of 1979, Roberta would marry Jack Patten, it was at this time, she would make White Mountain Ave. her home. Roberta and Jack welcomed their first child, Stephan, he was embraced by his older siblings, Andrea and JJ. Over the next few years Jack and Roberta would welcome Jacqueline, Michael and Bryan. Their family was now complete.

Roberta was an educator for over thirty years, teaching Kindergarten, elementary, Jr. High and Community College on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. She returned to school at the University of Texas El Paso and received a Master's degree in Special Education. When she wasn’t teaching or attending school, Roberta found time to coach girls’ volleyball and boys and girls jr. high basketball. During her years as the jr. high girls basketball coach, she led her teams in 2023 and 2024 to win the Central Arizona Jr High League Championship.

Roberta retired from teaching in 2007, to become a Career Counselor for the San Carlos Wellness Center. During the summers she would teach Pathways into Health, a program that prepares select students to obtain a degree in the healthcare industry. She also served on the Eastern Arizona Health Education Council and the advisory board for Indians into Medicine at the University of Arizona. Roberta also served as a Board Member for the Globe Unified School District. After a ten-year break from teaching, she would return to the classroom in 2017. Most recently, she served as the Board Chairperson for the San Carlos Apache College.

One of Roberta’s dreams was to be a world traveler, and she did just that! Her travels took her to Canada, Japan, Italy, Mexico and Peru. Her hobbies included sewing, harvesting acorn and berries and cooking. The things Roberta loved most; her grandkids, road trips, rodeos, music, thrifting, attending ceremonies and all her family and close friends. We could talk about Roberta for hours, all the funny memories, all the valuable teachings and all the ways she made us feel special, but since we don’t have hours, let us end here with one of her favorite quotes.

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
A quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I hope I have done this for the Apache people” ~ Roberta Hunter-Patten

WAKE WILL BE HELD AT 5:00PM ON SUNDAY, APRIL 28TH, 2024, AT THE HUNTER RESIDENCE IN SAN CARLOS, ARIZONA.

ROSARY WILL BE HELD AT 6:00PM AT THE HUNTER RESIDENCE IN SAN CARLOS, ARIZONA.

THE FUNERAL SERVICE WILL FOLLOW AT 8:00AM ON MONDAY, APRIL 29TH, 2024, AT THE ST. CHARLES CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SAN CARLOS, ARIZONA.

BURIAL WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE NORTHGATE CEMETERY IN SAN CARLOS, ARIZONA.