Roberta Louise Wellems

Roberta Louise Wellems (nee Davis), age 93, joined her husband in eternal life on Saturday, August 29, 2020.  Just hours before her passing, Roberta expressed her love and gratitude, and offered a big smile for her entire family who was able to be present with her by video conference.

Born in Miles City, to Lewis N. Davis and Bertha (Kaiser) Davis,  Roberta was a proud alumna of Montana State University receiving her BA in Applied Art. While teaching high school art in Montana, she met Thomas J Wellems. They married in 1950 and after Tom completed his degree at Purdue University, they lived briefly in Zion, Illinois before settling in Albuquerque in 1955 where they raised their six children. During these years, Roberta was active in the parish communities of Regina Coeli (later named Queen of Heaven), then Risen Savior.  It was also during this time her children introduced her to a variety of pets, eventually leading to her participation in the Irish Setter Club of Albuquerque.

Returning to her passion for art, Roberta stepped beyond the norm for women of the time, and completed a M.A. in Art Education at the University of New Mexico, while raising her family. She joined the New Mexico Watercolor Society in 1978, about which she once wrote, “My life changed.”  Recalling the many art workshops in which she participated, she mentioned one in Greece, in 1990, as the most interesting. She enjoyed traveling and, in all, visited 15 other countries around the world, journaling, sketching and painting along the way.  Her love of travel, perhaps nurtured by her year long visit to Hawaii at the age of 11, influenced much of her mixed media paintings, although watercolor was her favorite medium with which to work. She was an early participant in the Amapola Gallery in Albuquerque. Roberta and Tom lived in Placitas for over thirty years, where she was inspired by the beauty of the sunsets and mountains, which became the subject matter for many paintings of the land and people of northern New Mexico.

Roberta received many awards for her art, including several Best of Show in exhibitions in the southwest US. Her work can be found in homes, offices, churches and schools across the country. Her most recent exhibition was at Manzano Del Sol, where she resided for the past six years. 

A women of letters as well as art, Roberta had long memberships in the National League of American Pen Women, American Association of University Women, and Las Dineras, a women’s investment club.

When asked for a word to describe their Grandmother, her grandchildren responded with “sassy, spirited, and quick witted, avant-garde and opalescent, supportive and graceful, fashionable and known for impeccable style, and resilient,” Roberta leaves her “indomitable spirit” behind in a large and loving family: her children Thomas E. (Marilyn Powell); L. David; Bruce (Angela Kolacinski); Mary; Michael (Debbie Masloski), Gregory (Alice Johnson); and her grandchildren Nicholas (Alysen), Alexander (Lauren), Dianne, Christopher, Michaela, Annamarie, Ryan Nicole and Mary Elizabeth “Emmie”. She also leaves behind four great-grandchildren, Julie, Matthew, Thomas Hooper, and Roxanne. Roberta is survived by her brother Bruce (Lyn) Davis, and cousins, nieces, nephews, and many friends. Besides her husband Thomas J. and her parents, Roberta was preceded in death by her brother and sister-in-law, Lewis N. and Patricia Davis.

The family plans a celebration of Roberta’s life at a later date, when all can safely come together. Interment will take place at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers or gifts you are welcome to make donations to the Manzano del Sol Employee Christmas Fund in her memory,5201 Roma Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 or to the Albuquerque Association of University Women (AAUW) PO Box 92643, Albuquerque, NM 87199, a group significant to Roberta in her adult life. The family is grateful to the staff of Manzano del Sol for their care and friendship.