Genie “Meme” Page-Roberts, age 72, of Texarkana, Arkansas died Tuesday, November 15, 2022 in a local hospital surrounded by her family.
Ms. Genie was born June 23, 1950 in Atlanta, Texas and was a resident of the Texarkana area. She was a homemaker and a Game of Thrones Enthusiast. She loved to spend time with her family. Her family was the highlight of her life. She was preceded in death by the love of her life, Herb Roberts; her parents, Jack Page and Wana Adelle (Foster) Nash and one brother, Richard “Little Rick” Nash.
She is survived by her children, Garry Kell II, Greggory Kell, Gretta Heifner, Kacie and Randy Frederick, Kimberly Shomo, Kristy Roberts, Tim Shomo, Adam and Noni Roberts, Holly Roberts; nine grandchildren, Alli and Ryan Nevels, Cassidy Kell-Brewer, Jacob and Emily Heifner, Sophia Whitehurst, Alyssa Roach, Eli Villarreal, Mason Shomo, Josey Frederick, Gus Roberts; her brothers and sisters, Nell and Steve Hirsch, Granville and Pat Murphy, Jack and Benita Page, Debbie Smith, Sharon Satterfield, Nancy and Steve Parker, and a host of other relatives and friends.
Ms. Genie was everyone’s Mama/Meme. Quick to whip up a seven-course meal, she’d be just as quick to whip your ass. And to be honest, you probably deserved it. (She would like to go on the record and deny that she ever whipped Kacie’s ass. And didn’t smoke.) If you needed to be knocked down a peg or two, she was the one to do it. Some of her most savage moments occurred at a kitchen table playing cards. A professional card shark, she could destroy you, literally, at a hand of Canasta and Character Assassination. If you didn’t finish a game without your feelings being hurt, you weren’t playing it right. Ms. Genie had the sharpest mind and wit of anyone. She could make you laugh and feel terrible about yourself at the same time. But we loved her for that. She was who she was. If she wasn’t cleaning her already clean house, cooking, or watching Game of Thrones, you could find her in her immaculate yard raking those “damn leaves and acorns” and mowing her ultimate nemesis, “The Bitch Ditch”. Nothing would set her off quicker than being under a state burn ban. The woman was a walking flamethrower. At any given point, rain or shine, you would pull up in her driveway and find a fire blazing. You didn’t need GPS to find Ms. Genie’s house, you just looked for the smoke. There wasn’t a limb or cardboard box safe within a 500-mile radius. She only loved one thing more than cards, Game of Thrones, or arson…and that was her grandchildren. She saved every scrap of paper, every doodle, everything. She was always quick to snap a photo of the children’s school papers and report cards. She provided the best and most valuable education you could get. She would work with the children for hours on their homework and teach them the lost art of cursive handwriting. She was a powerhouse of knowledge, talent, classiness, and sassiness. Though she had a sharp tongue, her heart was the most tender. Years of stress, heartache, and hard work will do that to a person. She was much admired for her strength, but like she always said, “what other choice did I have?” A lesser person would have thrown up their hands long ago. But not Ms. Genie. Knock her down twice, she’d get back up three times. As painful and devastating as it was to let her go, comfort can be found in knowing that she’s finally getting the much needed rest and peace she deserves. The best thing you can do to honor her memory is to care for one another. One of her favorite go-to sayings when she was being salty was, “you’re gonna miss me when I’m dead and gone, and you’ll be shit out of luck.” You were right, Ms. Genie, as always.
A celebration of life will be held from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM Friday, November 18, 2022, at Texarkana Funeral Home, Arkansas.
Register online at www.texarkanafuneralhome.com.
