Noble Park resident Peter Roberts with a picture of his daughter Stephanie, who died suddenly on 2 July.By Shaun Inguanzo
AN ELDERLY Noble Park couple is overcome with grief after the loss of two family members, including their daughter, in the same week as the anniversary of their son’s death seven years ago.
Stephanie Roberts, 37, from Narre Warren, died unexpectedly in her sleep on 2 July while holidaying in Wagga Wagga.
She leaves behind her son Lachlan, 7, and partner, Rob.
The Coroner is still investigating the cause of her death.
Her parents, Peter and Rita Roberts, of Harold Road, were preparing for another year without son Andrew who died tragically from a blood clot in his leg, aged 31, in July 2000.
But at 3am on 2 July a knock on the door from Springvale Police to announce Stephanie’s death thrust them deeper into mourning.
And when it seemed life could not be any worse for the Roberts family, Rita’s sister, Catharina, died the following week, aged 70.
The Roberts have two other daughters, Christa and Elise, who now feel the family is cursed.
“It’s very shattering to lose two children,” Mr Roberts told Star.
“It’s knocked the daylights out of us.
“The girls are now saying, ‘who’s next’?”
Mr Roberts, a Catholic, said he had lost faith in God because of the way in which death had haunted his family despite living an honest, hard-working life.
He said he and his wife were still struggling to cope because Stephanie seemed healthy just days before her death.
“She was cheerful and seemed all fine,” he said.
“She was going away (to Wagga Wagga) for a couple of days with her partner.
“They were thinking of getting engaged and eventually married.”
A funeral for Stephanie was held on 9 July at the Boyd Chapel in Springvale. She was buried at Springvale Botanical Cemetery alongside brother Andrew.
Mr Roberts said Stephanie had been an accomplished athlete in her younger days, having represented the state, and set records in the hammer throw.
In 1982 she was named Dandenong’s Junior Sportsperson of the Year by a local newspaper.
Mr Roberts said a back injury had kept her from competing in her later years.
But it wasn’t enough to end her passion for athletics, and she travelled to Sydney for the Olympic Games in 2000 to watch the world’s best.
Stephanie worked as a nurse for the DutchCare aged care organisation after trying various hospitals.
At Stephanie’s funeral, civil celebrant Dawn Dickson said Stephanie’s death proved that life can be a short journey.
“So we must enjoy the moments as much as we can,” Ms Dickson said.
“Savour the scenery and the people we meet en route, for it is all there is.”
Ms Dickson said Stephanie had a passion for animal welfare and was a one-eyed Collingwood Magpies fan – so much that her pet rotweiller used to wear a Collingwood jumper.
She was a loving mother of son Lachlan, who will now be cared for by his father, and the Roberts.
Mr Roberts thanked Springvale Police for their sensitivity in handling the matter, and the University of the Third Age (U3A) for their support.
