Roberta (Rhodes) Marcotte of Erlanger and formerly of Tinley Park and Manteno, Illinois, celebrated her 100th birthday with a reception with her friends at The Village in Erlanger followed by a family dinner hosted by her grandson Eric Marcotte and his wife Katrina, at their home
Roberta, the young woman
Roberta was born April 20, 1922 in Opdyke, Illinois to parents Sophia (Estes) and Roland Samuel Rhodes. The family moved to Manteno in 1936.
She is a graduate of the Manteno High School Class of 1940 and is believed to be the last surviving member of the class.
While at Manteno, Roberta was involved in Girl’s Chorus, Glee Club, Home Ec Club, and on the volleyball team.
Roberta, at 100
After high school, Roberta attended beauty school in the Arcade Building, was a fitter of kid gloves at the Chicago Store in downtown Kankakee, and just after her marriage, worked as one of the first long-distance operators at the Kankakee offices of Illinois Bell Telephone Company, where she also handled some of the area’s first cellular phone calls.
Roberta married Staff Sergeant Edwin “Ed” J. Marcotte of Kankakee, a WWII veteran, on November 17, 1945 at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church Parsonage in Kankakee. They had two sons, Edwin Joseph and Rachel (Walther) Marcotte of Crescent Springs and Michael Alan and Karen (Hebert) Marcotte of Aurora, IL.
Roberta and Ed were married for 52 years until his death in 1997. After relocating to Tinley Park in 1960, she continued to live in their Tinley Park home until, at the age of 98, she moved to Erlanger. Grandchildren include Rebecca Marcotte, Ryan Marcotte, and Eric (Katrina) Marcotte. Great-grandchildren include Avery Marcotte and Joseph Marcotte.
