Roberta V. Lloyd

Roberta V. Lloyd, 87 of Aledo, died Sunday, October 1^st at her home. Funeral services will be Monday, October 9^th at the Viola United Presbyterian Church at 10:30 a.m. Burial will be in Viola Cemetery immediately following the service. Visitation is Sunday, October 8, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Speer Funeral Home, Aledo. Memorials may be made to the Viola United Presbyterian Church or the Mercer County Agricultural Society.

The funeral service will be livestreamed on the Speer Funeral Home facebook page.

Roberta Vashti Morris was born on August 4, 1936, to Robert and Florence (Strachan) Morris in Aledo, Illinois. Following her mother’s passing, her father married Gertrude Kennedy Morris. Roberta was in the first class to graduate from Winola High School, then went on to graduate from Western Illinois University with a degree in home economics. On the family stock farm, they raised award-winning Shorthorn cattle, Clydesdale horses and Hampshire hogs. With Morris Brothers’ Shorthorns, Roberta and her family exhibited cattle across the state and country, including the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago, Ill.  

On August 2, 1959, Roberta married Donald Clayton Lloyd in Viola, Illinois. Their wedding was planned around the Mercer County Fair, where they met as 4-Hers, and re-connected as adults. They settled at Roberta’s childhood home and continued to raise livestock including registered shorthorn cattle as Morris & Lloyd Shorthorns. Roberta also taught home economics at Winola High School and substituted for several years in the Winola and Aledo school districts. She loved teaching and in later years she helped with the before- and after-school programs. She also worked for Morrison’s Greenhouse and managed Lloyd’s House of Burgess.

Roberta was a member of the Viola United Presbyterian Church serving as an elder, deacon and trustee. She chaired the women’s Circle and served as the food coordinator for the church. She was a 4-H leader of the Peppy Partners 4-H Club, member of the Mercer County Home Economics Association, and served as Superintendent of the P-1 Department at the Mercer County Fair. She received numerous awards including the Mercer County Outstanding Farm Wife by the Mercer County Farm Bureau.

Roberta dedicated her life to teaching youth, whether it was in school, the community or 4-H. She taught many to cook, can, sew and knit.  She also gave her time to the Illinois Beef Association, American Shorthorn Association, and Illinois Shorthorn Lassies.

Survivors include her daughters, Becky (Al) Zwilling of Sherrard, Renee M. Lloyd and Rachel (Dudley) Fowler both of Aledo; 5 grandchildren: Jason (Lin) Zwilling, Clay (Deanna) Zwilling, and Gwen, Meg and Claire Fowler; 2 great-grand-daughters, Allie Grace and Emma Layne Zwilling. Also, surviving are nephew, Steve Morris and niece, Marilynne (Mike) McGuire and many other nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, brother Edmund T. Morris and numerous brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.