Roberta (Milne) Willoughby

Roberta Milne Willoughby, lovingly known to family and friends as "Bobbie", passed away peacefully on Sunday June 7th, at the age of 97, leaving behind a legacy of kindness, strength, laughter, and unwavering devotion to her family.

Bobbie is survived by her devoted sons, Alan T Willoughby Jr. and David W Willoughby; her beloved grandchildren Grace, Helen, and Bennett Willoughby; and many extended family members and dear friends whose lives were enriched by her kindness and friendship. She was predeceased by her beloved husband Alan T “Al” Willoughby, with whom she shared a lifelong love story and many happy years together.

The youngest of three daughters to her parents, Marion Baker Milne and Sidney Wentworth Milne, she was born on August 14, 1928, in Haverford, Pennsylvania. They eventually moved from Haverford to a comfortable home on Huston Road, in Radnor PA, but  Bobbie grew up across the street from the Merion Cricket Club, where she developed a lifelong love of tennis and sports. A gifted athlete with a graceful, natural tennis stroke, she was fiercely competitive but always gracious. She brought determination and enthusiasm to everything she pursued, whether on the tennis court, at the bridge table, or on the ski slopes of Vermont, where she and her friends famously spent countless weekends chasing fresh snow.

She graduated in her late thirties from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1965, and was a member of both the Colonial Dames of America and the Philadelphia Social Register. Bobbie worked in Center City and in Bryn Mawr College's Psychology Department while also dedicating herself to volunteer service in many capacities. As a junior Great Books discussion leader, she helped elementary school children discover a love of reading; taught the WordPerfect computer program at the Gladwyne Free Library; and participated in Hosts for Hospitals, opening her home to families receiving medical care who could not afford a place to stay.

In 1952, Bobbie joined the Savoy Company, where she performed in nine Gilbert and Sullivan productions over the next twelve years. Her involvement extended well beyond the stage as she served as an officer, board member, committee chair, and member of the company's traveling troupe. It was through Savoy that she met her husband Al, the love of her life, beginning a romance that would ultimately lead to a happy marriage of 55 years and the family she had always dreamed of having.

Bobbie became a mother later in life, welcoming her first son at age 39 and her second at 40—a testament to her determination and optimistic spirit. She often proved that persistence could overcome expectations, a lesson she passed on to her children every day. She taught them responsibility by insisting they own their mistakes, integrity by always doing the right thing even when no one was watching, and courage by encouraging them to believe that life's greatest joys often came from embracing the unfamiliar.

The measure of Bobbie's life was not found in public recognition but in the countless lives she quietly impacted: students who discovered the pleasures of reading, neighbors who gained confidence because she took the time to teach them, families who arrived as strangers and left feeling they had found a home, friends who laughed with her on tennis courts, ski slopes, and theater stages, and children and grandchildren who inherited her approach to life, long before they fully understood or appreciated its value.

Relatives and friends are invited to celebrate Bobbie's life at a memorial service on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, 625 Montgomery Avenue, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.  The service may be viewed online in a real-time live-stream at https://bmpc.org/live and afterwards it can be watched in an archived video at https://www.youtube.com/@brynmawrpres/streams

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made online to Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church at https://onrealm.org/bmpc/give/memorial,  Hosts for Hospitals at https://hostsforhospitals.org/donate or St Jude Children’s Research Hospital at https://www.stjude.org/give.html.