Sarah Jewel Wells Roebuck

Published 6:00 am Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Services for Sarah Jewel Wells Roebuck were 2 p.m. Saturday,Dec. 10 at Webb Funeral Chapel in Newton with burial in MasonicCemetery.

Mrs. Roebuck died Dec. 6, 2005, at Hurstboune Care Center inLouisville, Ky.

She was a retired church minister of music. She was reared inChunky, Newton County and graduated from Decatur High School asSalutatorian. She and her husband of sixty years, Arthur Aldridge,lived in Newton, Clinton, Star, Brandon, Aberdeen and Hazlehurst,where Mr. Roebuck was superintendent of schools. In 1997 she joinedher daughter Linda Kergosien in Brookhaven, and in 2000 went tolive in Louisville, Ky., with her daughter Margaret Nettles.

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Mrs. Roebuck graduated from Mississippi College and taughtschool at Star, Guide and Aberdeen and served as Dean of Women atBlue Mountain College. A sought-after-church vocalist, she taughtprivate voice and piano. When her husband was superintendent ofschools in Aberdeen, Mrs. Roebuck served as church secretary andchoir director at First Baptist Church. At Hazlehurst, Mrs. Roebuckserved First Baptist Church as minister of music and enjoyedserving the Lord through many types of musical and educationalministries. She promoted church involvement in both association andstate convention programs for teaching the Bible, training churchmembers for service, summer recreational camps for youth, hymnplaying and choral festivals, presenting musical ministries for allages and for many occasions of worship and praise in her church.Throughout her life, Jewel Roebuck taught women’s Bible studies andmemorized much scripture. During retirement she continued to shareher musical ministry in private lessons, funeral services, nursinghomes and special events. She ended her musical ministry to thenursing home at the age of 90.

A victim of Alzheimer’s disease, Mrs. Roebuck claimed John 3:16as her favorite verse and said her favorite hymn was “Jesus, Loverof My Soul.”

Preceding her in death were her husband, A.A. Roebuck; herparents, Jacob Meredith and Jessie Armstrong Wells; and twosisters, Ruby Estelle Wells and Ethel Lae Wells Freiler.

Survivors are her three daughters, Mrs. G.A. Cratch (Betsy), ofSterling, Va., Mrs. Hunter Kergosien (Linda), of Brookhaven, andMrs. Tom Nettles (Margaret), of Louisville, Ky.; eightgrandchildren, Stephanie Cratch Hall, of Pleasantville, Tenn.,Courtney Cratch Foster, of Purcellville, Va., Julie Cratch Mihill,of Sterling, Va., Art Kergosien, of Bay St. Louis, David Kergosien,of Columbus, Ohio, Joe Nettles and Sara Nettles, of Oxford, andRobert Nettles, of Louisville, Ky.; and 21 great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Hazlehurst, andfor the purposes of Alzheimer’s research.