Patty Roberts was an avid reader who often juggled two or three books at once. Often, they dealt with spiritual matters, so it came as no surprise when she became a priest.
She started theology school at Colgate Divinity School in Rochester, N.Y., and completed her degree at Emory University's Candler School of Theology. She was ordained a priest in 2000 and became a chaplain of the middle school at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School.
The Rev. Michael Sullivan, rector of Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church, said her creative spirit allowed her to reach everyone, notably the students she served.
"Because she could find the sacred in places others failed to notice, she had a way of translating God to younger generations, generations that naturally question the presence of God," he wrote in a statement.
David Roberts, her husband of 33 years, saw the relationship she had with the students whenever he visited campus. They called her "Chaplain Patty."
"She was like the Mary Poppins of the school with all the kids," he said.
In 2006, Patricia "Patty" St. James Roberts was given a little over a year to live after being diagnosed with peritoneal cancer. She died Sunday from complications of the disease at home in Marietta. She was 61. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Friday at St. Peter and St. Paul Episcopal Church in Marietta. Cremation Society of Georgia Inc. is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Roberts was born in Rochester but spent her early years in Webster Groves, Mo. She studied voice at Indiana University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from Webster University in St. Louis.
Mrs. Roberts had always felt at home on stage, and after college, she pursued roles in musical theater. Love for the arts took her to Los Angeles, where she ran into David, whom she'd known from Rochester, in a Mexican restaurant. He, too, was an actor.
"We tossed a coin one night and decided there is going to be only one neurotic in the family," said her husband, jokingly. "I moved into radio, we moved back to Rochester and she started studying at Colgate."
In 1992, Mr. Roberts' profession brought the couple to Atlanta, where she completed her divinity degree. Holy Innocents hired her as chaplain of the Fred Rowan Family Middle School shortly thereafter.
Clif St. James of St. Louis was not surprised his eldest daughter, who always enjoyed singing in the house, entered the ministry.
"She has always had a very spiritual being about her, and had been headed for that for a long time," he said. "The things she enjoyed about being a school chaplain were the kids and their fresh approach to everything, their questioning attitude. She liked that they challenged her to come up with answers."
Additional survivors include her mother, Nance St. James of St. Louis; a son, Oliver Roberts, and a daughter, Julia Roberts, both of Marietta; two sisters, Stacey Physioc of Anaheim, Calif., and Lori Doll of Dallas, Texas; and a brother, Chip St. James of St. Louis.
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