Willie Joe “Joey” Roberts, age 63 passed away peacefully on May 16 at her home surrounded by her family. Joey was born on December 30, 1961 in Lakeland, Florida to Lankford Dodson and Willie “Sue” Dodson. She was the youngest of seven children. She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers, David Dodson and Leland Dodson.
Joey was a 1980 graduate of Marion County High School. Early in her career, she worked for The Learning Center in Jasper. After her children started elementary school, Joey pursued a new path and attended EMT school, beginning a career with the Marion County Ambulance Service. She continued her education at Chattanooga State, where she became a Registered Nurse.
Joey began working at South Pittsburg Hospital as an ICU nurse before transferring to the newly built Grandview Hospital in Jasper. There, she spent the rest of her career as an Emergency Room RN, working alongside some of the best coworkers and friends she could have asked for.
If you knew Joey, you knew she always had a smile on her face, never met a stranger and showed genuine care and compassion to everyone she met. More than anything, Joey loved her family and cherished every moment spent with them.
She is survived by her loving husband of 45 years Lester Roberts Jr., their two daughters Crystal (Jason) Nugent and Holly (Zach) Warren, five grandchildren Haley (Jamie) Ayers, Cassie (Michael Lewis) Nugent, Isaac Warren, Jonah Warren, and Ethan Warren, two great-grandchildren Ryan Ayers and Brayden Ayers, as well as siblings Linda Dodson, Wanda (Marty) Deakins, Jannie Stanfield and Freddie (Nita) Dodson.
A Celebration of Life was held at the Roberts Pavilion on Hoyt Roberts Road in Jasper on Saturday, May 24 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Tate Funeral Home, LLC, 950 Mel Dixon Lane, Jasper, Tennessee 37347, 423-942-9500.
The Marion Tribune – May 29, 2025
